Hereís the perfect gift for the pilot who has everything: a limited edition, custom watch that was made with parts from a P-51 Mustang!

The Bremont Watch company was started by British brothers in 2002, and since then they have been offering high-quality, aviation-inspired timepieces. Their latest, the Bremont P-51, incorporates aluminum from the fuselage of ìFragile But Agile,î (P-51K-10 serial number 44-12016), a Pacific WW II warbird. The watchís dial is inspired by the clocks found in the P-51 aircraft.  Only 251 of these special watches will be made, and theyíll cost about $12,000 U.S. For more aviation-inspired watches and clocks, go to www.bremont.com.

Several months ago, during a winter conversation, it was mentioned that Dillon could solo many different planes on his birthday. From that seed grew his idea to do it all with conventional geared planes more commonly known as ìtaildraggersî. This older design is known among pilots to require more training, attention, and skill than todayís tri-cycle geared planes. Barron Aviation, one of Michael Barronís companies specializing in these vintage planes and their flight training, agreed to sponsor Dillon with his effort. Not only would his first solo flights be in taildraggers, but most would be with vintage radial engines and two of the planes would be twin engine!

During the months leading up to this day Dillon Barron, his father Michael, and the Barron Aviation crew worked many full days and late nights repairing several planes damaged during a storm earlier this spring. Also on the work list was the newly acquired North American AT-6A purchased as salvage from a landing accident. The last two aircraft were returned to service just two weeks prior to the big day! This didnít leave much extra time for training, so much of Dillonís initial instruction took place during challenging wind conditions. The day after final assembly and inspection of the AT-6A was completed; Dillonís father took it up for a 30 minute test flight then immediately began with instruction. To Dillonís surprise, he found the plane a pleasure to fly.

            Everyone woke to rain and advancing storms on Saturday morning, June 25^th. Closer inspection of the weather radar revealed some breaks in the advancing front and the decision to preflight all the planes was made. Both Dillon and his father seemed quite confident they could work around the weather and still complete the flights. A little after 9 am all of the planes were serviced, inspected, and flight ready. It was time to begin this great adventure!

            The Cessna 170-B was chosen by Dillon for his first solo flight. A logical choice for him as his first plane ride was in a 170. Now, 16 years later and no car seat, he is going to fly one by himself. Dillon is also in the process of repairing and restoring a Cessna 170-B for his first plane.

            After several pictures Dillon and his father climbed in, buckled up and fired up the polished relic. A traditional warm up flight was made then the father climbed out and sent the son on for his first solo flight. His takeoff was textbook perfect, but no sooner than Dillon was in the air, the rain began and the wind changed directions. This seemed to be no surprise to the young aviator. We heard him make a radio call announcing the change in his traffic pattern and he circled around to make a beautiful landing in the opposite direction. Greeted with a handshake and hug from Dear Old Dad, he had completed his first solo flight!

            For most student pilots this would be the climatic point, however, there were still 6 more beautiful vintage planes waiting for their turn with young Barron. The next lovely lady would be a 1952 Cessna LC-126-C, polished and painted in the bright Arctic Rescue colors. The military purchased some 62 LC-126 models in the early 1950ís and none saw adventure like the 11 assigned to Alaska. Equipped with wheels, floats and skis, they were used year round all over the region, including the Aleutian Islands.

            The wind and rain were picking up when the plane taxied out but this would be nothing new for this seasoned bird. It turns out neither would be of any consequence for Dillon either. He made what would be the best landing of the day. The only way we could tell when the plane touched down was the spray behind the main wheels from the water on the runway. The bright colors set against dark skies and the unique sound of a radial engine, what an impression!

            With the cross winds picking up Dillonís grandfather John, was getting nervous. His plane was next, a beautifully customized bright red 1950 Cessna 195-B! No-one except his son, Michael, has been allowed to fly this plane for the last ten years, and now it was going to be flown by a student pilot in crosswinds and rain! It didnít help when wind gusts and a subsequent balked landing forced Dillon to go around for another approach and landing. While the go around prompted a confident chuckle with an ìatta boyî from his father, no-one has been able to confirm Johnís eyes were open! This flight tied the recorded world record for ìthe most conventional geared aircraft soloed in one dayî.

            Things were starting to look really ominous to the north! A peek at the weather radar showed a large front of storms moving into the area. Some of these storms topped 50,000 feet with large hail reported. There would only be time for one more flight before the storms hit the Hannibal Airport. Confident he would resume flying after the storms passed; Dillon elected to fly the Cessna 195 modified with a 915 cubic inch Jacobs engine. This plane, nicknamed ìBartî is used by the Rapid Descent drop zone for skydiving. Now the on looking skydivers were nervous! This was their ride as soon as Dillon was done with it. The performance of this stripped down, large engine machine, with only one kid in it, was impressive! There was also a great big smile on Dillonís face when he returned the skydivers their chariot; he had set a new world record!

            Cake and conversation were enjoyed inside the hanger while the planes got thoroughly washed by the passing storms. Many of Dillonís friends and family were there for the dayís festivities, or possibly for the six different birthday cakes prepared by his grandmother, Marilyn!

            After two hours of Midwestern monsoons the rain began to subside and thoughts again turned to the remaining three gleaming planes; two twin engine classics and a World War II advanced fighter trainer. These were saved for last both as the most challenging and favorites of a young vintage airplane enthusiast.

            As Michael climbed out of the familyís beautifully restored 1944 Beechcraft C-45H and watched it taxi away, he realized this would be the first time he had ever seen it fly from the outside. The polished plane with its sleek lines along with the sound of two throaty radial engines brought goose bumps to his arms and legs! ìThat will never grow oldî he said as he turned and walked back toward the spectator group. Knowing this particular plane offered the most significant challenges for his son, and the winds were now 15 gusting to 20 miles per hour, he watched intently as it came in for another sweet landing! As his instructor, even his father was impressed with his sonís handling of this plane. This also showed on the young manís face as he exited the plane down the airstairs. A new level of inner confidence had been achieved!

            Along with this boosted confidence came a serious warning from dad; ìdo not give these next two planes any less attention or respect, they will bite you if you let them!î With the respected advice of his father he diligently worked his way around and into his next twin engine Beechcraft, a G-18S used at Hannibal for skydiving. An avid skydiver as well, Dillon has more takeoffs in this plane than landings! None the less, both were stellar.

            He is down to one final plane, his favorite, the one he has worked so hard on the last four months, the North American AT-6A! The T-6 series, also known as the SNJ series by the Navy, was used throughout World War II as the advanced trainer for fighter pilots. As the last plane they would fly before being sent out in their assigned single seat fighter, the design and flight characteristics were made similar to the fighter planes of the day. This particular plane was manufactured in 1942 and used by the military as well as several subsequent civilian owners. One of these owners was William P. Lear, of the ìLearjetî family, which ìLear Fieldî (Hannibal Regional Airport) is named after. Prior to conducting this planeís test flight, the last time Dillonís father had flown in one was in his fatherís T-6 at the age of three. He remembered not being able to see much from the back seat. Now that he is much taller, he still canít see! The only way to see forward for landing is to have the person in front lean to the side.

            With only 30 minutes less T-6 time than his instructor, young Dillon looks very at home as he taxis away with his dad standing along the taxiway. Again this will be Michaelís first time to see this plane in action! What a thrill to hear the engine go past at full throttle and see Dillon with the canopy slid open! Lulled into a relaxed state by Dillonís precision throughout the day, not many people noticed the gear was not down as he turned a rather brisk final approach. This however did not escape the eye of his grandmother, also a private pilot. While everyone else enjoyed the graceful fly by, her heart rate was just beginning to return to normal! After one last beautiful landing Dillon Lee Barron was greeted and applauded by a very proud group of friends and family!

            At the end of this eventful day, Dillon had more than doubled the recorded world record, got to fly some of his dream planes by himself, and had six different kinds of cake!

Itís a sad day in aviation, as a historic B-17 crash-landed in a field in Oswego, Illinois Monday, June 13th, and burst into flames. Thankfully, the FAA has reported that all seven people onboard survived without injury.

Hereís the full AP report:

 A World War II bomber made what appeared to be an emergency landing in a cornfield Monday and all seven people on board escaped before it was consumed by fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

ìThe plane departed the airport, noted an emergency and the pilot made what appears to be an emergency landing, after which the plane was consumed by fire,î FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said in an email. None of the passengers were injured.

The accident happened right after the plane took off from the Aurora Municipal Airport and the plane landed in an Oswego cornfield outside Chicago, Cory said. The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the incident.

Jim Barry, who lives in a nearby subdivision, told the Chicago Tribune he heard a low-flying plane and looked to see it. The engine on the bomberís left wing was on fire, he said.

ìNot a lot of flames, just more smoke than flames,î Barry said.

The pilot reported a fire shortly after taking off, Sugar Grove Fire Chief Marty Kunkle said.

ìHe attempted to make a return to the airport, but couldnít make it so he put it down in a corn field,î Kunkel told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Firefighters from Oswego, Sugar Grove and Plainfield responded to the scene. Fire officials said they were having difficulty getting to the aircraft because of wet fields.

The B-17 Flying Fortress was made in 1944. Authorities say it is registered to the Liberty Foundation in Miami.

An email to the Liberty Foundation from The Associated Press seeking confirmation wasnít immediately returned.

by Budd Davisson
Editor-in-chief, Flight Journal
Some photos speak to you in ways that others donít, and for me, this is one of those. In fact, it haunts me. For whatever reason, the sight of so many fresh young faces smiling into the camera, every one of them knowing they were about to experience the horrors of war, seemed to drive home the fact that WW II was fought by neighborhood kids who should have been hanging around the malt shop or working on their jalopy.

America wasnít then, and isnít now, a warrior society. Regardless of how the rest of the world sees us, we are, in our hearts, not geared to take the offensive. It is seldom, if ever, that we take to arms without being goaded into it. However, to paraphrase Isoroku Yamamoto, when the sleeping giant awakens, stand back! We are hell on wheels when in defense mode, and when that requires us to go on the offensive to strike back at our enemies, we are more than willing to do so. And generally do so with a vengeance.

Each of the young men in this photo, as casual as their posture may make them appear, knew exactly what lay ahead of them. Their ship, CV-10, the USS Yorktown, seen here transiting the Panama Canal on the way to the Pacific in mid-1943, was originally going to be named Bon Homme Richard. However, before launching, it was renamed to commemorate a previous carrier, the USS Yorktown (CV-5): barely a year earlier CV-5 had gone down in the Battle of Midway taking hundreds of young men just like these with it. And that was the kind of motivation that put these young men on this ship. They knew the fight had been joined, and the only way to win was to throw everything they had into it.

Regardless of whether they were from New Yorkís Lower East Side or a black dirt farm west of Omaha, these young men and their not-so-young leaders loved their nationís way of life and would defend it in any way and anywhere necessary. Be it as a nation, as a branch of the service, or as individuals, they recognized the threat, and theyíd be damned if theyíd negotiate with what we would now call terrorists. Their war would be unconditional. Their service would be unconditional. The surrender they would demand would be unconditional.

Today, itís nearly impossible for those of us who benefitted from these young menís actions to put this photo into context. Itís hard for us to remember that the SBDs and TBFs on the deck were state of the art, the periodís equivalent of Super Hornets, and that their ship, straight decked and barely half the size of a modern carrier, was a floating fortress, feared and stalked by their enemy. Itís hard for us to remember that hundreds of thousands of other seamen grinned into thousands of other cameras for the folks back home. For many of those at home, a photo like this would be the last tangible memory they would have of their fathers, sons, husbands and brothers.

If the question were asked of those in the photo, ìWould all of you who are still alive today, please raise your hands?î, we know that the number would be pitifully small. If, on the other hand, the question asked was, ìWould all of you who would willingly do it again, please raise your hands?,î we know the vote would unanimous. Thatís just the kind of people they were. And thatís just the kind of nation we are.

To those who didnít return: your hometown is safe. You did your duty well. And for generations weíll be trying to live up to the standards you set.

Free Airport Camping for Fly-In Pilots

Film, food, fun and pilot seminars fill out a weekend of programming co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), the City of North Adams Airport Commission and Shamrock Aviation.

(North Adams, Massachusetts)In an unusual collaboration, MASS MoCA, the nation's largest center for contemporary art, has joined forces with the City of North Adams and the local airport FBO to co-host a unique "Fly-in Weekend at the Airport", Friday, August 5, and Saturday, August 6, at KAQW (Harriman-West Airport, North Adams, in the heart of the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.)

The weekend kicks off on Friday night with an "under the stars" screening of the aviation classic The Great Waldo Pepper starring Robert Redford and Susan Sarandon projected in what may be -- for one night -- the country's largest movie screen: a 90' x 22' hangar door.  Starting at 7 PM, static aircraft and antique cars will be on display, and local vendors will offer popcorn, hot dogs and hamburgers, soft drinks, beer and wine for sale.  The film will start at 8:30pm. The airport will be closed to all aircraft operations from 6:30pm to 11:30pm.

Pilots and their passengers will be admitted to the movie for free and will be permitted to have free "under the wing" and tent camping on the airport grounds (with 24-hour access to the FBO facilities). There is a full-service Stop & Shop supermarket, open from 6:00 AM to midnight, within 500 feet of the airport.  The Redwood Motel (413-664-4351), which is across the street from the airport, is offering 25% off its normal $99 room rate. Other local hotels may offer a discount based on availability.  Pilots should call in advance and ask for the "fly-in movie" rate to see if there are discounted rooms available at The Orchards (413-458-9611), The Williams Inn (413-458-9371), or Hotel North Adams (413-663-6500). Additional lodging information is available at http://www.berkshires.org.

"The City and the FAA have just completed a beautiful airport improvement project, and we wanted to help show it off," said Joseph Thompson, MASS MoCA's Director.  "At the base of Mount Greylock Reservation, the state's highest peak and an excellent array of hiking and biking trails, Harriman West Airport is surely one of the most beautifully situated airports in the Northeast.  And with its close proximity to museums, the Williamstown Theater Festival, and so many other world class destinations, we wanted to help the City draw attention to such a great asset.  And who can resist an outdoor film on a nice summer night."   

Saturday, August 6, will feature aviation programming at the airport, including safety seminars and simulator rides offered in the morning by the FAA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.  The local FBO, Shamrock Aviation, will host a weekend-long open house with several aircraft and avionics vendors, a Saturday afternoon BBQ, and specially discounted 100LL avgas and scenic rides.

During the day on Saturday, pilots and passengers can enjoy MASS MoCA's galleries, which are open from 10- 6, and also DownStreet Art galleries throughout downtown North Adams, along with shops and restaurant and two other world-class museums that lie within three miles of the airport: the Clark Art Institute and the Williams College Museum of Art in Williamstown, MA.  Special discounted admission is available at both of these museums for those wishing to visit all three.   

On the evening of August 6, at 8:30 PM, MASS MoCA will present The Complete Metropolis with live original score by Alloy Orchestra at the museum's North Adams campus. This newly restored version of Fritz Lang's magnum opus includes 25 minutes of additional footage. This version of Metropolis, just 4 minutes shorter than the lost original 153-minute cut that premiered in Berlin in 1927, was discovered in 2008 in a library in Buenos Aires. The reconstruction and digitization of this archival print is one of the most significant restoration projects in cinema history. Alloy Orchestra, called "the best in the world at accompanying silent films" by Roger Ebert, will provide a memorable score.  

On Sunday morning, Shamrock Aviation will host a pancake breakfast for pilots and their guests.  

In case of rain the Saturday night film will be moved indoors at MASS MoCA and The Great Waldo Pepper scheduled for Friday at the airfield will be screened on Sunday, August 7, at 8:30 PM.

Tickets for The Great Waldo Pepper are free for fly-in pilots and their passengers, $7 for adults, and $3 for kids. For those arriving by car, tickets are $14 per car, including admission for all passengers. Tickets for The Complete Metropolis are $15 in advance and $19 at the door, with $5 off for pilots with valid pilot license. Tickets are available at the door or through the MASS MoCA Box Office located on Marshall Street in North Adams, open from 11AM to 5PM every day but Tuesday.  Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or online at www.massmoca.org at any time.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19^th-century factory buildings.  MASS MoCA is an independent 501c(3) whose operations and programming are funded through admissions and commercial lease revenue, corporate and foundation grants, and individual philanthropy.  Except for an initial construction grant from the Commonwealth, and competitive program and operations grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, MASS MoCA is privately funded: 90% of annual operating revenues are from earned revenues, membership support, and private gifts and grants.

Aces in the pack: Flanked by Spitfires and Hurricanes at Duxford, 17 of the last remaining Battle of Britain pilots line up for the camera

They are the glorious Few, the airmen whose extraordinary bravery saved Britain from Nazi invasion.

Seventy years on, the heroes who repelled Hitlerís Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain are a dwindling band ñ it is thought only 79, all recorded on this article, are still alive.

A special anniversary service at Westminster Abbey will remember the efforts of all those who took part in the pivotal encounter, arguably the most important ever fought by this nation.

Many were in their late teens or early 20s when they took to the skies in Spitfires and Hurricanes from July to October 1940. Others flew in Blenheims, Beaufighters and Defiants. Some became the ëacesí of the Battle, shooting down plane after plane.

During the Battle, Sir Winston Churchill said: ëThe gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed throughout the world, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion.

At the outbreak of World War II, the forces of Nazi Germany enjoyed dramatic success due to the air supremecy quickly gained by the German Air Force, known in that country as the Luftwaffe. As the war raged on, the word Luftwaffe engendered fear in whole nations just as the machinery of that powerful air arm could strike fear in the hearts of every citizen. Names like Messerschmitt, Focke Wulf, Junkers all became household names. If all goes according to plan, for the first time ever, the southern hemisphere is to see representative examples of aircraft from all three of these German companies, on the flightline together at Classic Fighters.

CFí11 organisers are waiting with bated breath for the arrival in March of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nick-named the ëButcher Birdí by the Allies during WW II. The aircraft has just completed several years of rework in Germany before being packed into a container and shipped to its Kiwi owner who will base the aircraft permanently at Omaka. No example of this menacing aircraft, broadly accepted as the best fighter produced by Axis powers during WW II, has ever been seen flying in the southern hemisphere so its debut at Classic Fighters will make it one of the key stars of the show.

Supporting this distinctive machine will be the return of the Messerschmitt Me 108 which has been a feature of the Classic Fighters event since the inaugural show in 2001. Although used as a communications aircraft and VIP transport during the war, the aircraft regularly supports the theatrical side of the show as it stands in for its similar looking brother, the Messerschmitt Me 109 fighter this being all the more realistic as the aircraft fires its very audible and visual guns from the leading edges of both wings.

Adding to the threesome is the resident replica of the hugely feared Junkers Ju87B ëStukaí dive-bomber. The Stuka was almost completed in time for last yearís show when it was displayed as a ëPiciatellií, the name given to the Stuka when operated by the Italian Air Force. Volunteers are just now putting the finishing touches on the Stuka, finally finished in the colours that most represents the way the aircraft would have looked during the height of its success with the Luftwaffe.

Hopefully, all three of this menacing trio will be on the field in time for the show this Easter, representing the largest gathering of representative Luftwaffe aircraft ever to participate in an airshow in the southern hemisphere, and coming together this Easter ñ only at Omaka!

www.classicfighters.co.nz

ìWe are very excited to add the P-51 Mustang to our collection of historically significant aircraft,î said museum president Larry Gregory.  ìIt is one of the most successful fighter aircraft ever produced and serves as a tribute to Americaís air power heritage,î continued Gregory.  Over 15,000 Mustangs were produced and approximately 150 are currently flying today.

The P-51 is regarded by many as the most effective fighter aircraft produced during World War II.  Known for its maneuverability, speed and range, the P-51 quickly made an impact over the skies of Germany by providing essential fighter escort to American bombers along their entire route. Its sleek design and 1,695 horsepower Rolls Royce Merlin engine enabled the Mustang to achieve air superiority and drastically reduce the number of American bomber losses. 

The Museumís P-51 was converted to a two-seat, dual control TF-51 while serving in the El Salvadoran Air Force in the 1960s.  The aircraft was reportedly damaged in the ìSoccer Warî between Honduras and El Salvador in July 1969. Later, it was nearly destroyed when another El Salvadoran bomber undergoing maintenance collided with the Mustang. It was imported to the USA in 1974 when El Salvador retired its meager inventory of former WWII aircraft. 

Once back in the states, the aircraft was restored to flying status in the late 1970s.  It passed through several owners in the 1980s, one of which was the Lone Star Flight Museum.  The museum sold it in 1988 and the new owner performed a major restoration of the cockpit during the 1990s.

Upon purchasing the P-51, the museum elected to perform some preventative maintenance and repaint the aircraft while it was disassembled.  A priority for the museum is to focus on the local area and/or the state of Texas with regards to aircraft paint schemes.  The museum chose to paint the P-51 in the colors of Galveston Gal, a Mustang flown by Galveston native Capt. Raymond B. Lancaster of the 359^th Fighter Group.  Lancaster flew over 60 missions and was credited with three aerial victories. Today, Lancaster resides in Galveston County and recently celebrated his 90^th birthday. 

While performing research on Capt Lancasterís aircraft and mission log, the museum discovered he flew at least a dozen missions in which he escorted a particular group of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers that contained an aircraft named Thunderbird.  The museumís B-17 is painted to represent the original Thunderbird, a bomber that flew 112 missions over Europe.  Soon, a scene from 1944 over Germany will be recreated over the skies of Galveston when these two airplanes take flight.

ìThe Lone Star Flight Museum is proud to pay tribute to Capt Lancaster and our hometown by painting the Mustang as Galveston Gal,î said Gregory.  ìWe certainly hope the Mustang will remind our visitors of the many sacrifices, past and present, made by people from our community to protect our freedom

The P-51 will join the Lone Star Flight Museumís historic flight experience program allowing its passengers to feel the amazing power and agility of one of the worldís greatest fighters.  ìWhen the Merlin engine roars to life on takeoff, youíll understand how the Mustang earned its reputation,î said Gregory.  ìItís an exciting aircraft that will definitely peg your fun-meter,î continued Gregory.

A historic flight experience makes the perfect gift, family outing or corporate team building function. In addition to the P-51 Mustang, flights are available aboard the museumís B-17 Flying Fortress, B-25 Mitchell, T-6 Texan and PT-17 Stearman. Each flight experience lasts about 35 minutes of which 20-25 minutes will be in the air.  Passengers must be 18 to fly aboard the P-51, T-6 and Stearman.  For the B-17 and B-25, passengers 12-17 years of age must fly with an accompanying adult. 

For more information and to book your historic flight experience, visit the Lone Star Flight Museum online at www.LSFM.org or call 888-FLY-LSFM (359-5736). The Lone Star Flight Museum is located at the Galveston International Airport next to Moody Gardens and the Schlitterbahn Waterpark.

The award followed feedback and requests from online visitors which prompted staff to move forward with uploading panoramic photos of all galleries, making the museum fully virtual. The tour is located at www.nmusafvirtualtour.com.

ìAll 92 high-definition panoramic ënodesí are now online,î said Lt. Gen. (Ret) John L. Hudson, museum director. ìWith all the photos uploaded, visitors can now better experience the museum while at home or on the go.î

When the Virtual Tour launched in November 2010, each gallery was initially scheduled to roll-out in phases. As staff received feedback, it became evident that online visitors were impressed with the tourís navigation, content and quality. Out of those who took the survey and have not physically visited the museum, 82 percent have said they would now visit.

ìThe responses on the Virtual Tour were more than we could have hoped. Not only have we extended our reach to a global audience, we have provided a service for people who cannot physically be here,î said Terry Aitken, senior curator for the museum.

The museum offers online visitors various ways to obtain this information, with the podcasts available via iTunes and the panoramas built not only for computers, but also for Smartphones and iPads. Each node eventually will contain clickable images to the aircraft and artifacts, which will be hyperlinked to factsheets, supplemental information and educational tools.

As the museum continues to expand on this new technology, individuals are invited to take a short survey in order to help us provide the end-user the best virtual experience possible. The survey is located at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/93S93FD.  

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Yearís Day). Admission and parking are free. For more information about the museum, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/
 

Photographs by Shawn A. Dorsch

The Flight 1549 Airbus at its current home in a warehouse in Kearny, N.J.

 

By PATRICK MCGEEHAN

US Airways Flight 1549 may make it to North Carolina after all.

The plane, which splash-landed in the Hudson River two years ago next week, may soon be bound for the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, the museumís president said on Wednesday. But it would have to travel there on the back of a truck because it no longer has its engines or its wings or tail.

With Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger at the helm, the plane took off from La Guardia Airport for a two-hour flight to Charlotte on Jan. 15, 2009. Minutes later, after striking a flock of geese that knocked out both of its engines, it was floating in the frigid Hudson.

After all 155 of its passengers and crew members were rescued, the plane was fished out of the water and hauled to a warehouse in Kearny, N.J. There it has sat for almost two years. It has been taken apart, combed over by federal crash investigators and put up for auction ó apparently without a taker.

Shawn A. Dorsch, president of the Carolinas Aviation Museum, on a recent visit to the plane at the New Jersey warehouse.

Now, Shawn A. Dorsch, the president of the museum in Charlotte, says he is in the ìvery final, final stagesî of negotiations to acquire the plane and its parts from Chartis, the company that insured the plane for US Airways. Mr. Dorsch declined to say whether Chartis would receive any money for the plane, an Airbus A320. A Chartis spokeswoman declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the airline.

One of the museumís supporters, Mark C. Brickell, a Wall Street banker who lives in Manhattan, said the museum would have to cover the cost of transporting the fuselage and other pieces to Charlotte and reassembling them. ìItís not an inexpensive proposition, and it requires a lot of support,î said Mr. Brickell, a Wall Street banker.

Mr. Dorsch said he intended to invite museumgoers to watch the reassembly, which he said would probably take months. He said he hoped to move the plane in May. He talked to Mr. Sullenberger on Wednesday, he said, and the retired pilot has already promised to send the uniform he wore on the last flight to be included in the exhibit.

Charlotteís mayor, Anthony Foxx, said his city was a fitting site for the plane because about 100 residents of the area were on Flight 1549 and because aviation is a big industry there. ìWe hope that when all is said and done we have a monument to not only the heroism but a way of framing a conversation about aviation safety and creating a vehicle to teach kids about aviation,î Mr. Foxx said.

Officials of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, which is on an aircraft carrier docked just a few hundred yards from where Flight 1549 hit the water, briefly considered trying to obtain the plane but decided that it was not presentable.

Mr. Dorsch thinks otherwise. ìThis is a tremendous artifact,î he said. ìThe Coke cans are still in the serving cart, the manuals are still in the cockpit. It has the dent from the tugboat, the dents from the birds. All of that is part of the story.î

The New York Times, January 5, 2011

For the last seven years, concerted efforts have been made to locate the possible final resting place of a 619 Squadron Lancaster I ME846, which was shot down by a German night-fighter on the night of June 22, 1944.

The aircraft was crewed by five British airmen; one Australian airman and one Canadian airman. Four of the airmen survived the subsequent crash - one evaded and three became prisoners of war. Three airmen were killed ñ two are buried in Schoonselhof Cemetery in Antwerp, Belgium, whilst the remains of the pilot, Pilot Officer Mark Anthony Hamilton ëDaveí Davis have so far not been recovered.

Recent discoveries in Belgium lead researchers to believe that the crash site may now have been located. This is in the vicinity of a memorial to the crash near Mol ñ Postel that was unveiled in September 2006. It is possible that the remains of Pilot Officer Davis lie at this crash location.

Towards the end of October 2010 members of the ME846 Family were contacted by a Belgian military researcher who had been inspired to aid the search for ME846. Through his investigations he has located a site, which has yielded British calibre ammunition, some fragments of aluminium and a piece of canvas webbing with metal attached. 

The site has now been visited by several other prominent Belgian researchers. The general consensus of everyone involved in this search in Belgium is that it is highly likely that the location of the ME846 crash site has now been identified. So much so the SO3 Post Death Admin Comms & Licensing Department at RAF Innsworth, UK have been notified of the possible location and their advice has been sought on how to progress with the investigation of this site.

This process will involve close co-operation with the appropriate regional and statutory Belgian authorities. There are still some important decisions to be taken about how the project should proceed, not least whether or not a further investigation / excavation should be carried out.

AAM Accreditation is the museum profession's primary formal acknowledgement of quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability. It grants national recognition for a museum's commitment to excellence: governance, collections stewardship/management, public programs, financial stability, exceptional professional standards, and continued institutional improvement.

"The AAM's accreditation announcement confirms the continued excellence of our Museum and the dedication of so many people; our staff, our hundreds of volunteers and our many donors who invest in their community believing in the outstanding accomplishments and vision of their Air & Space Museum," said Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of SDASM.

Of the nation's estimated 17,500 museums, 775 are currently accredited. SDASM is one of only 59 accredited museums in California and became the first AAM-accredited, aero-themed Museum in 1986.

"Accreditation assures the people of San Diego that their museum is among the finest in the nation," said Ford W. Bell, president of AAM. "As a result, the citizens can take considerable pride in their homegrown institution, for its commitment to excellence and for the value it brings to the community."

Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 35 years, the AAMís Museum Accreditation program strengthens the profession by promoting practices enabling leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely and to provide high quality public services.

Accreditation is a rigorous process examining every aspect of a museum's operations. To earn accreditation, a museum must first conduct a year of self-study, then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM's Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, review and evaluate the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should be awarded accreditation. The Accreditation process occurs every 10 years.

For more information please call (619) 234-8291 or visit sandiegoairandspace.org

 ìThis is an incredible honor for women pioneers throughout aviation history.î said WAI President Peggy Chabrian. ìAnd I will be on hand to represent Women in Aviation, International at the historic site where powered flight began. Members of WAI are encouraged to attend the December 16 and 17 events in Kitty Hawk.î

In addition, WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame member Betty Skelton will be inducted into the First Flight Societyís Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine, a portrait gallery that surrounds the Wright Flyer reproduction displayed in the visitor center at the Memorial.  The Shrine honors those individuals and groups that have achieved significant "firsts" in aviationís development.

Betty Skelton, known as the ìFirst Lady of Firstsî holds 17 individual land and speed records.  Her Pitts Special, Little Stinker, is on display in the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  A new member of the First Flight Shrine has been inducted during December 17 ceremonies every year since 1966 and is honored with the unveiling of their portrait. 

ìAlthough Betty is not the first woman to be included in the First Flight Shrine, she joins iconic women pilots such as Amelia Earhart, Harriet Quimby, Jacqueline Cochran, Jeana Yeager, and others.î added Chabrian. ìWe are delighted to see this remarkable woman honored.î

Tickets are available both for a banquet on December 16, 2010, and a luncheon honoring Women in Aviation on December 17, 2010, which will include a presentation by Dr. Julie Hedgepeth Williams, author of Wings of Opportunity: The Wright Brothers in Montgomery, Alabama. Tickets may be purchased from the Outer Banks Community Foundation by telephoning (252) 261-8839.

Women in Aviation, International is a nonprofit 501(C)(3) organization dedicated to providing networking, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for women and men who are striving for challenging and fulfilling careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. For more information, contact WAI at 3647 State Route 503 South, West Alexandria, OH 45381, Phone (937) 839-4647; Fax (937) 839-4645 or through www.wai.org.

Enjoy the sight and sound of the celebrated British single-seat fighter aircraft in the year that

marks the 75th anniversary of the Spitfireís inaugural flight. The Spitfire was first seen by the

Tickets can be purchased online at www.iwm.org.uk/duxford or by calling the Box Office on

Haunted Hangar and "nightFlight" Paranormal Investigation Offer October Events Ranging from Frightfully Fun to Seriously Spooky

POLK CITY, Fla. (Sept. 23, 2010) - While vintage planes like the B-17 and Grumman Duck typically take center stage at Fantasy of Flight, it's the long-lost pilots whose spirits soared while flying these beauties who are poised to cast a spell over attraction guests this October.

Fantasy of Flight, Central Florida's premier aviation attraction, is showcasing the spirited stories of the daring pilots behind the world's largest private collection of vintage and restored aircraft in two unique events next month.

For those interested in a "scary-lite" experience, daily Haunted Hangar Walking Tours offer engaging Halloween fun for guests of all ages. Participants will tour the attraction's hangars as their "ghoulie" guide shares little-known aviation tales and unsolved mysteries -- from the famous Lost Squadron to Lindbergh's spectral companions. The half-hour tours are offered daily Oct. 1 - 31 at 1 p.m. (pending any extraterrestrial interruptions) and are included free with the price of general admission.  

For those who take their Halloween experience more seriously, the attraction's popular nightFlight Paranormal Investigation and Tour should do the "trick." Introduced for the first time earlier this year to sold-out audiences, the four-hour, limited-attendance nighttime tours are guided by Florida's Apollo Paranormal Investigations (API), a non-profit team of paranormal investigators (sometimes referred to as "ghost hunters").  nightFlight is offered Saturday, Oct. 16 and Saturday, Oct. 30. The tours run from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. and are $75 plus tax, per guest. Reservations are required.

"We hope that between these two events, guests enjoy their choice of either a fun Halloween experience or one that may send a chill up their spines," said Kim Long, General Manager, Fantasy of Flight. "Those attending either event will learn about our vintage planes, while also learning about the paranormal energies throughout the attraction that seem to love the world of aviation, just as much as our guests."
 
Beginning at 9:30 p.m., nightFlight guests will be admitted to Fantasy of Flight as they join API's paranormal exploration guides to search between this world and the next for signs of supernatural activity among the world's largest private collection of rare and vintage aircraft, including many World War II fighter planes. Guided by the skilled API team, guests will become paranormal investigators in training and learn how to use the tools and devices professionals use to determine the difference between coincidences and inexplicable phenomenon. They will also have an opportunity to enjoy refreshments and to share with others their own encounters with the paranormal and the results of that evening's investigation, from personal encounters to questionable sensations, to concrete audio or visual evidence.

nightFlight Investigation participants are encouraged to bring a camera, voice recorder, video recorder and extra batteries. Recommended attire includes secure, flat-soled shoes, a watch and "quiet" clothing that doesn't have strings or glow in the dark. Due to the subject matter, this event is recommended for adults. Participants must be at least 16 years old; those under 21 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.nightflightexperience.com or call 863-984-3500.

Fantasy of Flight will also host a number of other special events during the remainder of 2010 including "Airmen in Captivity: The POW Experience," part of the Living History Symposium Series, on Oct. 8-9, "Take Aim at Breast Cancer" on Oct. 23-24, a fundraising event taking place during the onsite PSP World Cup Paintball Tournament, Oct. 21-24, the Fourth Annual Roar n' Soar on Nov. 13 and 14 and Fantasy of Flight's 15th Year Anniversary Celebration, Nov. 27-28. The Third Annual Boy Scout Aviation Camporee will be held March 18-20, 2011. 

In addition, Fantasy of Flight is committed to finding more war heroes and bringing them to Central Florida's premiere aviation attraction. WWII Pilots, Soldiers, Flight Nurses, WASP and even Rosie the Riveters are encouraged to contact Fantasy of Flight for upcoming "Living History Symposiums."  If interested, please contact Stephanie Conner at 863-984-3500 or sconner@fantasyofflight.com.

Fantasy of Flight general admission is $28.95 for adults, $14.95 for children ages 6-15, plus 7 percent sales tax. Children 5 and younger are free. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more. Annual passes are available for $69.95 for adults, $39.95 for children ages 6-15, plus 7 percent sales tax, and are good for one year from the date of purchase. Open Cockpit Days are free for Annual Pass holders and $20 additional for paid guests.

For more information, call 863-984-3500 or visit www.fantasyofflight.com.

New display to be available from May 1-31, 2011
Work on a temporary ìCanberra 60th Anniversary Displayî has recently started at the Newark Air Museum. It is being prepared to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Canberra (the RAFís first jet bomber) entering service with 101 Squadron at RAF Binbrook, Lincs in May 1951.
 
The display will focus on RAF Canberra Operations and it will be installed in Hangar 2 at the museum, alongside the National Benchmark Canberra B(I)8 airframe, WV787 and the quarter scale Radar Reflective B2 model.

A previously displayed set of graphics will be supplemented by some new material gathered from the Research Files of ëCanberra Authorityí, Peter Green. An extensive collection of Peterís Research Files have been added to the Museum Archive and this new display will allow some of that material to be displayed to the museum visitors.
 
It is also hoped that various former Canberra air and ground crew will be visiting the museum next May to renew their acquaintance with the various Canberra aircraft and cockpits that are displayed at the museum.
 
When volunteers are available to look after the airframe the museum hopes to allow some access to the Canberra B(I)8 cockpit ñ visitors will need to check in advance to see whether this airframe is open.

From 7-10 p.m., guests will be able to come face-to-face with ghosts from aviationís past, including Amelia Earhart and the Red Baron, if they DARE! Theyíll also be able to experience the Spirit of Flight, a live performance of one manís journey through a century of aviation.

The Air Zooís Main Campus rides and attractions will be open throughout the night, and food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Tickets for Ghosts of Aviationís Past are $12 per person if purchased before October 24 and $15 afterwards.  They may be purchased at the Air Zooís front desk or by calling 269.382.6555.

The Air Zoo is a nonprofit organization located at 6151 Portage Road in Portage, Mich.  It is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and offers a restaurant, gift shop and banquet facilities.  General admission is free.  Unlimited rides and attractions may be purchased with a wristband package or can be purchased individually with tickets.

The Imperial War Museum Duxford has formally opened "Polish Airmen in the Battle of Britain," a new historic display which commemorates the courageous role played by the Polish Air Force in the Battle of Britain in this, its 70th anniversary year.

This temporary display, commissioned by the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Repression, traces the history of the Polish Air Force from its inception in 1918 through its battle in the skies over Poland and France at the beginning of the Second World War to the undeniably heroic role played by Polish airmen in the Battle of Britain.

The display depicts the airmenís struggle to reach British shores; the training and preparation for battle under the auspices of the Royal Air Force and the adrenalin-fuelled intensity of the frenetic dogfights over Britainís shores.

It looks at the key characters who flew in the renowned Polish squadrons, including the Polish fighter ëacesí, and the legacy of these determined and dynamic fighter pilots.

RAF Duxford hosted pilots from many nationalities during the Battle of Britain, including Poland. Imperial War Museum Duxford is proud to host this historic display, telling the lesser-known story of the Polish Air Force and its significant contribution to the outcome of the Second World War.

A rare German wartime bomber has been discovered on the Goodwin Sands, seventy years after it was shot down during the height of the Battle of Britain. With a crew of four and loaded with 2000 lb. of bombs, the aircraft, a twin-engined Dornier 17 ñ known universally as "The Flying Pencil"- was part of a large enemy formation intercepted by RAF fighter aircraft at midday on 26 August 1940 as they attempted to attack airfields in Essex.

Boulton Paul Defiant fighters attacked the Dorniers at 13,000 ft. over Deal in Kent before they had reached their intended target. They claimed at least six Dorniers destroyed and one damaged for the loss of three of their own aircraft and two air gunners killed

One of the Dorniers, flown by Feldwebel (Flt Sgt) Willi Effmert, attempted a wheels-up landing on the Goodwin Sands. He touched down safely and the aircraft sank inverted. Effmert and his observer were captured but the other crewmen died and their bodies were washed ashore later.

The aircraft is in remarkable condition ñ considering the events surrounding its loss plus the effects of spending so many years under water. Other than marine concretion it is largely intact, the main undercarriage tyres remain inflated and the propellers clearly show the damage inflicted during their final landing.

Since the Dornier emerged from the sands two years ago, the RAF Museum has worked with Wessex Archaeology to complete a full survey of the wreck site in preparation for the aircraftís recovery and eventual exhibition at Hendon where it will form a centre-piece in the recently-announced Battle of Britain Beacon project.

Work to conserve and prepare the Dornier for display will be undertaken at the RAF Museumís award-winning conservation centre at Cosford. Here the Dornier will be placed alongside the Museumís Vickers Wellington which is currently undergoing long term restoration.

Air Vice-Marshal Peter Dye, Director General of the RAF Museum said that ìThe discovery of the Dornier is of national and international importance. The aircraft is a unique and unprecedented survivor from The Battle of Britain. It is particularly significant because, as a bomber, it formed the heart of the Luftwaffe assault and the subsequent Blitz.î

The RAF Museum, with the support of English Heritage and the Ministry of Defence, is now developing a recovery plan to protect the aircraft from any further damage and to provide for its long term preservation. There is concern, however, that material has recently been removed illegally from the wreck site - although a number of items have now been retrieved.

Air Vice-Marshal Dye stated that ìThe Dornier will provide an evocative and moving exhibit that will allow the Museum to present the wider story of the Battle of Britain and highlight the sacrifices made by the young men of both air forces and from many nations.î

A North American Harvard II B training aircraft recently arrived at the Newark Air Museum (newarkairmuseum.org).

This particular Harvard is believed to have been built in America in 1942 and served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Dutch Air Force as a pilot / aircrew training aircraft. The airframe is believed to have carried the serial number 42-12417 (Dutch AF B-163 and RCAF FE930) although there appears to be some discrepancy on this identification and work is currently underway to re-validate the data plate on the airframe. Any assistance in resolving this issue would be appreciated by the museum staff and volunteers.

The Harvard fills an important gap in the museumís themed display of training aircraft. During World War II the type was used in Canada to train thousand of British and Commonwealth airmen as part of the Empire Air Training Plan, which provided vitally important aircrew for all parts of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Force Squadrons.

This particular aircraft will require a significant amount of restoration work by the museum volunteers before it is returned to full display standard and they are already making plans about how they will fit the project into the current Exhibit Restoration Program.

ìA Harvard aircraft has been an acquisition target for many years and this one will help illustrate the important wartime training role the type provided out in Canada .î commented Museum Acquisition Officer, David Hibbert, he continued. ìIn the early 1990s we briefly had a Harvard on loan from the RAF Museum, but now we have been able to purchase one ourselves.î He concluded, ìWe are very excited by this new arrival and the volunteers are already looking forward to getting to grips with restoring it.î

USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) reached a historic milestone with the success of its 200,000th trap on its flight deck July 13.

Lt. Ben Hartman and Lt. Ian Hudson, attached to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129, said they were honored and surprised to learn they got the 200,000th trap.

Cakes were presented in Wardroom III to the aviators who landed the EA-18G Growler, and in Arresting Gear Room 4, to the Sailors manning the V-2 engine room who manned the arresting gear for the landmark trap.

"It feels good to be part of Carl Vinsonís history. It's a new community weíre apart of, so everything is new and exciting,î said Hudson. ìIt takes 25 years plus to accumulate 200,000 traps on an aircraft carrier.

ìItís really surprising we got the 200,000th.î

The aviators expressed how proud they were to be manning the aircraft, but also recognized the sailors who made the monumental achievement possible.

ìIt definitely feels good, but itís more of a testament to the guys working on the flight deck and the arresting gear. Theyíre the ones working hard all day every day,î said Hartman.

ìThis is a testament to the kind of sailors we've had working this flight deck for the past 28 years,î said Cdr. Richard Wiley, Carl Vinsonís air department head. ìTwo-hundred thousand traps means we've done it right, and weíve done it safely for a long, long time.

ìCarl Vinson, also known as the ‘Gold Eagle,í has built a legacy of excellence, and itís been built by the sailors we had out there today and the men and women who served before them.î

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Air Shows President, Hugh Schoelzel expressed appreciation for the choice of the Aerodrome as a fitting venue and explained the special air show: ìOld Rhinebeck Aerodromeís replica of the 1911 Curtiss ìDî PusherÖvery similar to Glenn Cutissí Albany FlyerÖ will be on display to greet guests entering the Aerodrome courtyard. At 2 p.m., the Pioneer and Barnstorming Air Show will feature the Curtiss ìDî Pusher in a taxi demonstration of its unique flight controls, flying exhibitions of an original Curtiss JN-4 H Hisso Jenny built for the Great War in 1918 and a Curtiss Wright Junior CW-1 built by Curtiss as an economical flying machine for recreational pilots in 1931.î The museum and grounds open at 10 a.m. with four hangars full of antique airplanes and related artifacts to browse through; biplane rides will also be available.

Following the air show, the Hudson River Valley Institute is sponsoring a lecture by Trafford Doherty, Executive Director of The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum of Hammondsport, New York. There will also be a special static display and photo opportunities of the Curtiss airplanes. ìIt is a privilege to come to the Hudson Valley to celebrate the aviation achievements of Glenn Hammond Curtiss. I look forward to this opportunity to share with you the man who is considered to be the ìFounder of the American Aircraft Industryî and ìFather of Naval Aviation,î said Mr. Doherty.

ìThis is an appropriate way not only to celebrate Mr. Curtiss and his achievements but to recognize them as having the period significance of the exploration of space today. His historic flight down the Hudson River Valley 100 years ago marks the birth of practical inter-city commerce by airplane,î Mark Castiglione, Acting Executive Director of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area commented.

For more information, go to oldrhinebeck.org or call (845) 752-3200.                

This spectacular evening attracts numerous air and space legends to San Diego and honors the "Distinguished Class of 2010": Harrison Ford, actor, pilot, Airplane Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) spokesman and former chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) Young Eagles program; Alan Bean, Apollo 12-fourth of only twelve men to walk on the Moon; Joe Clark, Aviation Partners; Theodore Gildred and Theodore Edmonds Gildred, famed Friendship Flights to Ecuador; Linden Blue, General Atomics/Spectrum Aviation; Si Robin, Sensor Systems; Robert Mitchell, Northrop Grumman Corporation; and Steve Fossett, Aviation Adventurer and World Record Setter.

Planned for the evening of October 23, 2010 in the San Diego Air & Space Museum Pavilion of Flight, guests join the honorees for an evening of fun and extraordinary recognition, as each attendee is offered an experiential peek into the lives of these living air and space legends. Special Guest Gene Cernan, last man to walk on the moon, will also be there.

"We're especially pleased to honor the Class of 2010 because these pioneers have not only pushed back the frontiers of air and space exploration, they've also become strong positive role models for today's youth," said Jim Kidrick, San Diego Air & Space Museum President and CEO. "Aviation and space exploration, as embodied by the people we honor in our Hall of Fame, is a metaphor for the American pioneering spirit. It's a critical part of our legacy as a world innovation and technology leader. We must inspire today's kids to tackle the tough science, technology, engineering and math challenges, which lie ahead. October 23 will be an evening every guest will remember for a long time, and not want to miss. It's our chance to honor these legends on behalf of every San Diegan."

The San Diego Air & Space Museum's International Air & Space Hall of Fame is composed of hundreds of air and space pilots, engineers, inventors and innovators, along with adventurers, scientists and industry leaders. NASA Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, and Russian cosmonauts are honored in the Hall of Fame, plus famous flying pioneers such as the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager. Notable inductees include Jack Northrop, William Boeing, Reuben H. Fleet, Glenn Curtiss, Walter Zable Sr., Fran Bera, Wally Schirra, Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, T. Claude Ryan, Jimmy Doolittle Jr., Frederick Rohr and Waldo Waterman.

"Inspiring kids to undertake tough science and engineering challenges is only the first step," Kidrick said. "We must also give them the resources they need to complete hard science education majors."

Proceeds from the evening benefit the Museum's education programs.

The Class of 2010:

Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford was born July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. He began acting in high school and his early career included a few television and secondary movie roles. For a time he left acting to pursue a career as a carpenter. He then returned to the screen and was in the movie American Graffiti in 1973. Four years later in 1977 he starred as Han Solo in the Star Wars Trilogy and then in 1981 he starred as Indiana Jones in the Raiders of Lost Ark. These films solidified Ford as a major Hollywood star. Ford has won numerous acting awards and is one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Harrison Ford is a licensed air and helicopter pilot. In July 2000 Ford flew his helicopter to rescue a stranded hiker near his Wyoming ranch. In April 2009 Ford became the spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) to help promote the role of general aviation in the broader U.S. Transportation industry. He has served as honorary chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles program. Ford has been honored with the Living Legends of Aviation Legacy Award (2009), Freedom of Flight Award (2009), and the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation Award (2003).

Alan Bean
Captain Alan Bean was born in Wheeler, Texas on March 15, 1932.  After graduating from high school he attended the University of Texas. At the University of Texas Bean was a Navy ROTC cadet and upon graduation received a commission. Bean completed flight training and was assigned to a jet attack squadron in Jacksonville, Florida. After four years he attended the Navy Test Pilot School, and flew as a test pilot for several types of Naval Aircraft. Bean was selected one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as a backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. Captain Bean was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12 and landed in the moon's Ocean of Storms on the second manned lunar landing. After the Apollo mission Bean was commander of the Skylab II mission orbiting the earth for a then-record 59 day, 24,400,000 mile spaceflight. In total Bean spent a total of 1,671 hours and 45 minutes in space. Captain Bean retired from the Navy in 1975 but continued to work for NASA as a civilian working as head of the Astronaut Candidate Operations and Training Group. In 1981 Bean retired from NASA to devote his time to painting.

Joe Clark
Clark attended the University of Washington and immediately became active in aviation, inspired by friends like Clay Lacy and Bill Lear. In 1966, he founded Jet Air, the first Learjet dealership in the Northwest. His career in aviation grew quickly with marketing and sales assignments for Gates Learjet and the Raisbeck Group. In 1981, Clark teamed up with Milt Kuolt and Bruce McCaw to form Horizon Air, a successful regional carrier that was later sold to Alaska Airlines. Clark co-founded the Seattle-based Aviation Partners in 1991 after business tycoon Dennis Washington asked him if he could do something about extending the range of his Gulfstream II business jet. Introducing the GII to blended winglet technology reduced the drag by more than seven percent. Clark and Borge Boeskov formed Aviation Partners Boeing to explore putting winglets on 737s. Today, over 500 Boeing 737s are outfitted with blended winglets, and the company has orders for over 1,200 additional shipsets. Southwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and Alaska Airlines are just a few of the 33 major carriers in the process of upgrading to blended winglet technology. Boeskov nicknamed Clark "Lord of the Wings."

Theodore Gildred & Ambassador Ted Gildred
Theodore Gildred Sr. was born in May of 1900 in Rochester, NY.  He grew up and was educated in Argentina and Ecuador before attending New York University.  He learned to fly in 1925 at Dutch Flats in San Diego. Inspired by Charles Lindbergh's epic 1927 flight Gildred, Sr. took off from San Diego on March 13, 1931, in a Ryan B-5 Brougham, beginning a 19-day, 4200 mile goodwill flight to South America.  He was greeted by 15,000 spectators in Quito.   Exactly 50 years later, Gildred's son, Ambassador Ted Gildred, Jr., recreated his father's famous flight, using a 1943 Stinson Reliant from the collection of the Air & Space Museum. After the successful completion of the 1981 commemorative goodwill flight, the Air & Space Museum donated the aircraft to the people of Ecuador to help them establish their own museum. In 2006 Ted and his sons Ted, Jr., and Stephen flew "Ecuador III - The Spirit of Goodwill" to Ecuador to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the original flight.

Linden Blue
Linden Blue was born in 1936 in Meeker, Colorado. Blue received his B.A. degree from Yale University in 1958, and is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School. He served on active duty with the USAF Strategic Air Command, and was a partner in a 4000-acre cocoa and banana plantation and a 100,000-acre ranch in Nicaragua. Since 1986, Linden Blue has been Vice Chairman of General Atomics in San Diego. At GA his primary responsibilities have included development of the advanced, second-generation, Modular Helium Reactor (MHR), coordination of activities in GA's Washington, DC office, and overseeing GA's activities at the San Diego Supercomputer Center which GA established in 1985. From 1982 to 1984, he was President and CEO of Beech Aircraft Corporation. From 1977 to 1980, he was with Gates Learjet Corporation, serving as Executive Vice President and General Manager, and earlier as head of Strategic Planning. He is currently managing director of Spectrum Aeronautical, which designs and develops high technology business jets. Other activities, past and present, include: Board of Overseers, Center for Naval Analysis; Trustee and Executive Committee, Hudson Institute; Board Member and Past President, Green Foundation (geophysics and planetary physics); Board member, National Parks Foundation; Chairman of the Airports and Airways Committee, General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Si Robin
Seymour "Si" Robin was born in 1929 and studied electronics in College. In 1948 Robin moved to California and went to work for Douglas Aircraft working on antennas and other military parts. After leaving Douglas Robin went to work for Sensor Systems, a small company in Chatsworth, California. Sensor Systems was at the time just expanding into the antenna field. In 1970 Robin acquired the Sensor Systems and expanded its antenna production. Sensor Systems acquired large military contracts providing antennas for AWACS and KC-135 aircraft. Today Sensor Systems makes over two hundred and fifty types of antennas that are used by the majority of aircraft throughout the world. Major aviation clients include Airbus, Cessna, Boeing, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Northrop Grumman, and Honeywell. Si holds over 80 patents today. Sensor Systems is still located in Chatsworth, California and many of Robin's extended family works for the company. Besides running the company Si Robin is an avid pilot and owns many vintage aircraft and competes in vintage automobile racings. Si received the Living Legends of Aviations Award for his lifelong accomplishments in designing antennas for commercial, business, and military aircraft.

Bob Mitchell
Mitchell began his military service as an aircraft apprentice in the Royal Air Force, thus began his lifelong association with Aviation. He was later selected to attend the RAF College, Cranwell, was commissioned, became a pilot and earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Aeronautical Engineering. In 1973, he attended the United States Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he earned a Master's Degree with distinction in Astronautical Engineering. Mitchell joined Northrop Grumman with the acquisition of Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, where he had served as president, in August 1999 and retired in December 2009. His last position was Sector Vice President for the Aerospace Systems Division. He was also the Corporate Lead Executive for the Army Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program and the Navy's EP-X program. Mitchell previously served as Sector Vice President for Special Programs at the former Integrated Systems Sector, captured several classified programs and became Corporate Lead Executive for the successful capture of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program. Prior to this, as Vice President of Unmanned Systems, he managed the continued development of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial system and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, leading the team that captured and developed the Fire Scout and other unmanned systems.

Steve Fossett
Born in 1944, Steve Fossett grew up in California and received a business degree from Washington University in Missouri. The daredevil notched up more than 116 records in balloons, airplanes, sailboats, gliders and airships. At least 60 of them remain unbroken. In July 2007, Fossett was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Ohio and vowed to carry on breaking records. He disappeared on 3 September 2007, shortly after taking off for what was expected to be a brief flight in his single-engine Bellanca Super Decathlon plane from a private ranch in Yerington, Nevada. He never returned, and the largest air and ground search in US history, involving dozens of aircraft and hundreds of people over an area of 44,000 sq km (17,000 sq miles), initially failed to find him. Fossett was declared legally dead by a court in Chicago on 15 February, 2008. Some of his belongings were eventually found with skeletal remains, which DNA testing proved belonged to Fossett. He was 63 at the time of his tragic death.

The Hall of Fame Gala Celebration is scheduled for Saturday evening, October 23 in the Pavilion of Flight in the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

For more information please call (619) 234-8291 or visit www.sandiegoairandspace.org.

When Nomads was founded in 1965, it was one of 30 clubs of its kind in America. Today, Nomads is the nationís only surviving travel club, and dropping by its private terminal near Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the only ways to find passengers who actually enjoy their entire travel experience -- from security screening to landing  -- every time.

Forty-five years later, Nomads has been able to do what no other air travel club in America has: stay in business. The founders of the club made a commitment to providing members with the most comfortable, convenient travel experience possible, and that still remains the clubís top priority.

By todayís standards, the club presents a travel experience practically unheard of by offering members free secured parking, no-cost baggage handling, an absence of check-in lines, expedited private security screening, club-class seating on its own Boeing 727 jet, and trip directors who coordinate every aspect and travel with the group to destinations across the country and world.

Despite the recessionís affect on leisure travel, Nomadsí nearly 5,000 members continue to enjoy hassle-free air travel on their ìflying clubhouse,î which aviation safety officials have rated second only to Air Force One.

This week as America celebrates National Aviation Day, Nomads members continue to keep the Wright brothersí legacy alive by reliving times when passengers stepped on and off an airplane with a sense of excitement.

To find out more about Nomads, call 734-941-8000 or visit www.nomadstravel.org.

Nomads, Americaís finest and only surviving air travel club of its kind, is headquartered at Detroit Metropolitan Airport with 5,000 members as of May 2010. It was founded as a non-profit organization in 1964 by a group of Detroit-area businessmen who loved traveling, with charter members purchasing an Eastern Airlines DC-7. By 1971, membership grew to more than 400 people and the club purchased a prop-jet Lockheed Electra to accommodate 92 passengers.  Nomads took its first around-the-world trip in 1973. The club continued to grow and purchase new planes in the 1970s and 1980s. Their current aircraft, a 1993 Boeing Super 727-200, offers non-stop travel to destinations up to five-and-a-half hours away without refueling. For more information, visit www.nomadstravel.org.

DAYTON, Ohio ó A new exhibit focused on the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC), a group that served during World War II, opened Aug. 19 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The First Over the ëHump:í The China National Aviation Corporation exhibit is located in the museumís Air Power Gallery. It tells the story of CNACís pioneering search for air routes over the Himalaya Mountains between China and India, known in history as the ìHump.î CNACís great success in finding these vital air routes led to the first regular flights over the Himalaya Mountains. Joining with the Air Transport Command, CNAC became a vital partner in the worldís first strategic airlift. Between April 1942 and August 1945, CNAC crews are reported to have flown over 38,000 missions transporting 10 percent of all cargo and personnel over the Hump to Allied Forces in China, Burma and India.

For their contributions to the war effort, CNAC aircrews were granted veteran status in 1993 and awarded all due awards and decorations, including the Victory Medal, Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
 
ìThe Allied success in winning World War II was a result of successfully mobilizing and utilizing all available strategic assets, including commercial airlines,î said Terry Aitken, the museumís senior curator. ìThe experiences of World War II and the Berlin Airlift compelled the U.S. to create the Civil Reserve Air Fleet ñ aircraft from U.S. airlines that support Department of Defense airlift requirements in emergencies. This exhibit is an opportunity for the museum to acknowledge the accomplishments of the CNAC veterans and their place in history.î
 
The exhibit includes several interesting artifacts, such as a khaki bush jacket donated by Capt. Fletcher ìChristyî Hanks, who crossed the Hump 347 times during World War II, and a CNAC lighter and custom-made utility knife donated by Capt. Gifford Bull, who is credited with 252 Hump flights.
 
ìOn the opening of the exhibit, I pay tribute to those who made great contributions and sacrifices,î Peng Keyu, Consul General of the Peopleís Republic of China in New York, wrote in a letter that was read during the ceremony. ìThe exhibit will pass on to the younger generation the legacy of friendship between the Chinese and American people.î

More information and photos of this exhibit are available at http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=17136.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Yearís Day). Admission and parking are free.

NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286.

By using Flickr.com, the entire SDASM Library & Archives digitized photo collection will eventually be viewable via the internet anywhere in the world. To date, 64,000 images have been uploaded, and more than 100,000 digitized images should be online before the end of the year. The aviation-related subjects include foreign and domestic military and civilian aircraft, the Flying Tigers, aviation-related biographic photos, the Ryan Aeronautical Archive, and the Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) archive. The project, with assistance from the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, has been made possible by a generous grant from the Legler Benbough Foundation.

Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum said, "We are very excited about getting our special collection online. This has been a goal of ours for a long time, and it is wonderful to finally see it come to fruition.  Sharing this incredibly unique image archive with the world is one of our key missions."

The images can be tagged or commented upon by the viewing public to add information to the data on each image. All of the images on the site are available for purchase in high resolution for publication or personal use. By digitizing the photos, SDASM makes the images more accessible and preserves them for future generations. View the SDASM photo collection at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/

The SDASM Library & Archives houses one of the world's largest collections of aerospace still and moving images, including images of approximately 95 percent of aircraft ever conceived. In total, the collection contains nearly two million photos, negatives, slides and transparencies, plus thousands of films and videos. In addition to the images on Flickr.com, indexes to the Museum's collections of films, videos, and other audio-visual materials are currently being added to AeroCat, the Library & Archives online catalog.

The SDASM is one of several cultural institutions within Balboa Park currently working with BPOC's rapid capture stations to digitize archival images and publish their collection data online. The Museum of Photographic Arts, the San Diego Hall of Champions and the San Diego History Center (formerly the San Diego Historical Society) all plan to launch similar online collections in the coming months.

Balboa Park Online Collaborative was created to fundamentally change the way museums, cultural arts and science institutions in Balboa Park approach the use of online technology. It is intended to make online technology an integral part of the way the institutions fulfill their missions, interact with patrons, and collaborate, to improve their technology capabilities while reducing costs by bringing organizations with similar needs together on mutually beneficial projects. Visit www.bpoc.org for more information.

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is California's official air and space museum and education center. The Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, and it was the first aero-themed Museum to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. Currently on display: The Science Of...Aliens, a special exhibition that explores the real possibilities of alien life. Visit www.sandiegoairandspace.org for more information. The Museum is located at 2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101. The Museum and gift store are open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with admissions until 4:00 p.m. *After Memorial Day, the Museum closes at 5:30p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

A World War II hero who disappeared from public records is set to have his memory officially honoured for the first time on July 26, 2010 at the Battle of Britain monument in London.

Squadron Leader Charles Alexander Ogilvy who flew Spitfires and Lancasters in World War II has had his bravery recognized by Westminster City Council and its transport contractors FM Conway.

During the war his work included bringing home allied prisoners of war to Britain, and taking part in a humanitarian operation in the Netherlands which dropped food to the starving Dutch.

A memorial to the airmen of the Battle of Britain stands on Londonís Victoria Embankment but Ogilvyís name was left off the list of 2,936 British and Allied personnel who were awarded the Battle of Britain clasp as no records existed for him due to some of the war time records being either damaged or missing.

Squadron Leader Charles Alexander Ogilvyís daughter Susan from Oxfordshire, said: ìI am grateful that my fatherís name has been added and that he will be honoured along with all those other young men who fought for their country.

"My father became a squadron leader and although he never talked about the war it is right that his name appears on the memorial as it is something for our family to be proud of."

Cllr Robert Davis, Westminster City Councilís Deputy Leader, said: ìIt is important that we recognise the huge contribution that all those who fought in World War II made in helping to defend Britain from the Nazis.

"We are honoured to be able to pay tribute to a forgotten hero who was one of the many exceptional people whose sacrifice ensured that good triumphed over evil during our countryís darkest days."

The managing director of leading maintenance and services firm FM Conway, Michael Conway, whose company paid for the addition of Sqd Ldr Ogilvy's name, said: ìAs Winston Churchill put it, so much was owed by so many to so few and it was therefore right that we offered our assistance in adding Charlesís name to the monument.î

Mrs Ogilvy was on a trip to London with family about four years ago when she inspected the memorial and found that the name of her late father was missing. After some dogged detective work she persuaded the Battle of Britain Memorial Committee to allow her father's name to be added.

Upon the death of her mother, Susan had found her fatherís Battle of Britain clasp, and his records, which showed he had flown Spitfires and two sorties on October 25^th, 1940.She engaged the services of a researcher and contacted the Battle of Britain Memorial Committee, and a process of verifying her fatherís wartime records followed.

Charles Alexander Ogilvy received the Battle of Britain clasp which was issued to aircrew who fought in the Battle of Britain for aircrew members of stipulated squadrons of Fighter Command who flew at least one operational sortie between 00.01 hrs 10th July and 23.59 hrs 31st Oct 1940. 

He joined 610 Squadron at Acklington on 14th October 1940 and flew two operational sorties on the 25th of that month, which qualified him for the clasp. He was later posted to RAF Cranwell as a flying instructor, where he trained more than 120 pilots over a three year period in over 1000 flights.

Squadron Leader Charles Alexander Ogilvy took part in a series of important operations during World War II which included Operation Manna in 1945 which was aimed at alleviating starvation for people in the Netherlands and involved the planes dropping food parcels to the Dutch. After the war VE day did not end the operations for the Lancaster planes as Operation Exodus, an Allied operation to bring home European prisoners of War home took place, where Lancaster bombers such as those flown by Ogilvy were converted to carry up to 25 passengers and bring them home.

Edward McManus was on the London Monument committee and was tasked with compiling a master list for the monument. This had been done before but due to missing or damaged wartime records, no two lists were the same.

Edward McManus said: ìAs we were committing the names to bronze, I had to be certain that the lists were comprehensive. As time went by after the monument was unveiled, there were several approaches to say that we had made mistakes but none were substantiated.

ìThat was until Mrs Ogilvy got in touch. We are delighted to be able to honour the bravery of Sq Ldr Ogilvy in this way.

ìItís a mystery as to why the October 1940 entries that registered his eligibility for the clasp were picked up at the end of the war but that he otherwise vanished without trace from the usual records.î

For more information about the Battle of Britain memorial, visit: www.bbm.org.uk

 

Sean D. Tuckerís Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety, the leading aerobatic and upset recovery training school, in partnership with jetAVIVA, the premier light jet acquisition and sales firm, are launching their new Light Jet Upset Recovery Training course. Geared towards general aviationís light jet owner pilots, the course is specifically designed with the modern jet pilot in mind.
 
Following the FAAís recent announcement urging all commercial operators to begin incorporating ìEnhanced Upset Recovery Trainingî, jetAVIVA and the Tutima Academy are demonstrating their dedication to safety by expanding this recommendation to light jet operators. A recent NASA study demonstrated that Loss of Control (LOC) scenarios continue to outpace other factors as the leading cause of fatal accidents in the last 20 years.
 
To help combat LOC accidents, the course covers LOC scenarios and aerodynamics with a specific emphasis on LOC psychology.  The three-day course utilizes the highly capable Extra 300L and Pitts S2B/C, giving pilots the ability to experience all flight attitudes and to test the edges of the aerodynamic envelope in a safe and structured environment under the guidance of some of the worldís top aerobatic instructors.
 
This course is open to any pilot who flies a turbine-powered airplane or is considering the purchase of a turbine-powered airplane.
 
The team at Tutima Academy, including company principal and world-renowned airshow performer Sean D. Tucker, developed the curriculum in conjunction with jetAVIVAís jet instructor pilots.  Says Sean D. Tucker, ìFlying aerobatics is the greatest thrill Iíve ever experienced. Being able to share my experiences to help other pilots survive emergency situations is even more rewarding. î
 
Since its inception, jetAVIVA has been dedicated to the development of its clients as owner pilots.  Says jetAVIVA president Cyrus Sigari ìTraining for and flying in competition aerobatics has significantly helped increase my personal flying skills, potentially saving my life one day.  As a result I have become a firm believer that upset recovery training is not just an educational option; it should be required training for all those operating turbine powered aircraft.î jetAVIVA developed its first Jet Familiarization Training course several years ago and has helped hundreds of owner-pilots transition from propeller aircraft to jets.
 
Based in Los Angeles, jetAVIVA provides expertise in light jet sales, acquisition, acceptance and training for clients from around the world. The Tutima Academy of Aviation Safety is located in King City, CA.  The Tutima Academy strives to provide high-precision flight training for pilots of all levels, building confidence during maneuvering, and a deeper understanding into the art of aviating.  The goal of both jetAVIVA and the Tutima Academy is to increase safety in one of the fastest growing areas of general and business aviation: the owner-flown light jet arena.
 
For more information or to sign up for the course, contact jetAVIVA at +1.818.574.7770 or e-mail to contact@jetAVIVA.com.

The Royal Air Force Museum is delighted to announce that its attempt to obtain the world record for the most model Spitfires constructed in a day has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The attempt, run with the support of Airfix and Ebury Publishing, had participants arriving from afar a field as Singapore and Australia to participate. Members of the public worked throughout the day at the Museum, with each individual who successfully completed their model rewarded by taking it home to keep.

Paul Hudson, Head of Marketing at the Museum, stated:

ìI would like to thank Airfix and Ebury publishing for presenting us with the opportunity of hosting this world record attempt. But most of all I would like to thank each one of our visitors who braved some incredibly inclement weather to assist us with this endeavour. It is through their efforts that we are able to celebrate this award. This world record belongs not to the Museum or our partners but to the families and modellers who assisted us on the day.î

It is particularly gratifying to find out about this award in the run up to the Museumís celebrations for the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, later this year.î

In total, 250 model Spitfire aircraft were constructed and painted over a 6 hour period.

The Royal Air Force Museum London is open daily from 10am to 6pm, with last admission at 5:30pm. To learn more about the various free family activities that the Museum offers, please visit www.rafmuseum.org/london or call the museumís 24 hour information line on  0208 358 4964. Admission to the museum is free.   

AUGUST 10, 2010: Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome announced a special opportunity this weekend for artists, photographers and writers to capture the thrill of our rich aviation history through the Aerodromeís antique airplanes and artifacts.

ìCreative people from all over the region are expected to show up to start new work in a variety of media; they can also display related aviation finished work, or get professional tips for improving their skills,î said Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome President, Hugh Schoelzel. Noted aviation photographer, Gilles Auliard, president of Atlantic Flyer Magazine, will be on hand to give tips on aerial photography. He will also recognize winners of a joint Atlantic Flyer - Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome photography contest.

ìThe Aerodrome has always fascinated me to the extent that I created an entire series using the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome antique airplane theme,î said noted local photographer Joel Weisbrod, owner of jwArtWorks Photography and Gazen Gallery in the Village of Rhinebeck. Joelís work is on display and for sale in both of the Aerodrome gift shops; he will also be available to provide professional pointers.

The Museum opens its doors and grounds for the public at 10 AM ñ 5 PM daily. Between 2 PM and 4 PM a barn-storming air show with pioneer airplanes will be featured on Saturday and a World War I air show will take place on Sunday. Biplane rides are available for purchase for $65 on a first-come-first-served basis.

Old Rhinebeck Air Shows and the Museum are 501 C (3) Non-profit Corporations.

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome: (845) 752-3200    info@oldrhinebeck.org

MEDIA CONTACT: Don Fleming (860) 354-6722 or cell: (860) 488-0119

Photos from last yearís event are available upon request.

Flight Journal Podcast - Episode 24
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Photo courtesy of Marc M. Ellis / H2OPictures

For the first time, two wildly popular, ìhigh-octaneî events will converge on one dayóSaturday, April 17ó at Fantasy of Flight, offering guests twice the fun and twice the entertainment value for the price of admission. First, the three-part Living History Symposium concludes with ìVictory in the Sky,î a tribute to the heroic World War II Flying Aces. Two WW II Flying Aces and P-51 Mustang pilots, Don Bryan and Bud Anderson, will sign autographs, meet guests and share with them their personal accounts of flying the P-51 Mustang during wartime and shooting down five or more enemy aircraft in order to earn this prestigious distinction. Flying Aces including A.T. House and Bob Liles, who earned the title while flying other aircraft, will also be on hand to greet guests and sign autographs.

At the same time, the 13th Annual Mustangs & Mustangs show returns to Fantasy of Flight, the only Mustang event that showcases both restored P-51 Mustang aircraft and Ford Mustang autos of all eras, ages and styles.

ìFor classic car lovers, aircraft enthusiasts, history buffs and anyone who simply loves fast cars, amazing aerial demonstrations and American heroes, there's no better place to be on April 17 than at Fantasy of Flight,î said Kermit Weeks, founder and creator of Fantasy of Flight. ìThe American Fighter Aces represent a proud chapter in American history. Unfortunately, this incredible opportunity to hear their firsthand accounts of World War II won't be available to us forever, so we are honored to welcome them to Fantasy of Flight again this year and to reunite them with the amazing P-51 Mustangs that guided them to 'Victory in the Sky.íî

The Flying Aces, also called Fighter Aces, are an elite group of combat pilots who shot down five or more hostile aircraft in air-to-air combat in World Wars I and II, as well as Korea and Vietnam. Out of more than 40,000 fighter pilots trained during World War II, only 1,314 had the skill and bravery to become an American Fighter Ace.

On April 17, at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Fantasy of Flightís Officers' Club, P-51 pilots Don Bryan and Bud Anderson will share their daring tales of aerial warfare in an up-close and personal forum with Fantasy of Flight guests, followed by an autograph and meet-and-greet session. Flying Aces Col. A.T. House and Bob Liles, who earned Flying Ace status in other aircraft, will also be on hand to greet guests and sign autographs.

Lt. Col. Don Bryan became a Flying Ace in Sept. 1944 while flying for the 328th Fighter Squadron. Piloting a P-51 D-10 he named ìLittle One IIIî after his wife, he shot down two Me-109s near Frankfurt, Germany. His biggest day came in Nov. 2, 1944, when his group encountered 50 German planes over Merseberg, Germany. He downed five Me-109s and damaged two others. He became Commander of the 328th Fighter Squadron in Jan. 1945 and scored his last victory in March of that year, shooting down an Ar-234 jet bomber. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1964 with an official tally record of 13.33 aerial victories and four damaged.

Clarence E. ìBudî Anderson is a WW II Triple Ace who flew the P-51 Mustang Old Crow, while assigned to the 357th Fighter Group ìYoxford Boys,î 8th Air Force, Leiston Field, United Kingdom. His P-51 carried him safely through 116 missions without being hit by fire from enemy aircraft. Anderson was the leading Ace of the 363rd Fighter Squadron with 16.25 victories. With more than 30 years of military service, he was decorated 25 times for his service to the United States. Throughout his career, he served as a test pilot, Chief of Fighter Operations, Deputy Director of Test Flight, served two tours at The Pentagon and commanded three fighter organizations until retiring in March 1972 as a Colonel. During his career, he flew more than100 types of aircraft, and logged more than 7,000 hours. Chuck Yeager, a fellow member of the 357th Fighter Group from World War II, called him ìThe best fighter pilot I ever saw.î In July 2008, Bud was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Lt. Col. A.T. House, a former Marine who re-enlisted in the Army, trained as a pilot and claimed his first aerial victory in March 1942 in his P-40 he nicknamed ìPoopyî while flying over the Torres Strait, north of Australia. By March 1943, House had claimed four more victories in New Guinea. After an additional tour in China, he was promoted to Lt. Col. in 1945, went back to serving in the Army, then moved to the Air Force, from which he retired in 1960. Col. Robert L. Liles joined the Army Air Corps in Nov. 1940 and joined the 16th Fighter Squadron of the 51st Fighter Group in May 1942. Flying his P-40 Warhawk he named ìDukeî after John Wayne, Liles celebrated five confirmed aerial victories, five ìprobablesî and two damaged Japanese aircraft while serving in World War II. He retired as a Colonel in 1970.

Immersion experiences and meticulously recreated historical exhibits reinforce the amazing accounts told by the Aces, taking guests back in time to see, hear and feel what it was like to fly some of Americaís greatest wartime airplanes. The true stories of these courageous pilots are further brought to life through permanent and semi-permanent exhibits, the world's largest private collection of rare and vintage aircraft, and tours of aircraft restoration and maintenance areas.

Meanwhile, out on the Fantasy of Flight tarmac, guests with a shared passion for the restoration of aircraft and automobiles can marvel as Mustang show cars compete for a ìPeople's Choiceî award and as rare, restored P-51 fighters perform live aerial demonstrations. As well as watching the hot rods and fighter planes in action, guests also can take advantage of children's activities, enjoy live entertainment and snap photos with the classic cars and vintage airplanes.

Adding to the dayís exciting events, Fantasy of Flight will also offer an ìOpen Cockpit Dayî on April 17, during which guests are invited to get up close and personal with some of Americaís most rare vintage aircraft and climb aboard for a once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity.

Introduced during World War II, the P-51 Mustang was a long-range, single-seat fighter plane that was used primarily to escort bombers during raids over Germany. Following its limited use in the Korean War, many Mustang fighters were converted for use by civilians who appreciated the planes' speed and agility. The Mustang grew so popular among aviation enthusiasts that in the 1960s, Ford Motor Company named its new youth-targeted coupe after the fighter.

Fantasy of Flight also hosts a number of other special events throughout the 2010 year, including the Sun 'n Fun Splash-In at Fantasy of Flight on Lakes Agnes, April 15; Roar ní Soar, Nov. 13-14 and many more.

Cost of the Living History Symposium and 13th Annual Mustangs & Mustangs is included with Fantasy of Flight admission, which is $28.95 for adults, $14.95 for children ages 6-15, plus 7 percent sales tax. Children 5 and younger are free. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more. Annual passes are available for $69.95 for adults, $39.95 for children ages 6ñ15, plus 7 percent sales tax, and are good for one year from the date of purchase. Open Cockpit Days are free for Annual Pass holders and $20 additional for paid guests.

For more information, call 863-984-3500 or visit www.fantasyofflight.com.

As the first pilot for Mission Aviation Fellowship, Betty Greene became the first woman to fly across the Andes and the first woman to pilot an aircraft in Sudan.

But Greene, a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, wasn't one to talk about her pioneering achievements. As WASP aviators, Greene and 1,100 other women took on non-combat flying duties that often were hazardous, freeing up male pilots for combat. 

She wasn't looking for publicity, and the last thing she wanted to do was brag about any of it. Had it not been for Greeneís parents sharing her exploits with the rest of the family, not even her closest kin might have known much about her work. 

ìI never got the feeling that any of the Greene siblings ever thought anything they did was heroic,î said Naraelle Hohensee, Greeneís grand-niece who represented her great aunt this month at a Capitol Hill ceremony that honored WASPs with a Congressional Gold Medal.

Betty Greeneís older brother Al, who in 1940 sailed with his wife to China as a missionary, is Hohenseeís grandfather. Hohensee found that attitude of humble sacrifice common among her great-grandparentsí children and the women of their generation receiving the honors.

ìI got the feeling it didn't faze the women who actually did it. They didn't realize they were doing anything out of the ordinary,î Hohensee said. ìThey just did what they loved.

ìI think Aunt Betty felt the same way. She was doing what she loved and didn't think anything else of it.î

Greene died April 10, 1997, of Alzheimer's at her home on Lake Washington near Seattle. She was 77.

Betty Greeneís fascination with becoming a pilot began in childhood. A devout Presbyterian who enjoyed ministering in her churchís youth group, she also sensed God had called her to use airplanes to further missionary work ñ even though at the time, there was no such thing as mission aviation.

While training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, for the WASP program, Greene wrote a pair of articles for Christian publications about how flying could advance Christian ministry. Three American military pilots responded by sharing with her their vision for creating the Christian Airmenís Missionary Fellowship.

After word came that WASP would disband in December 1944, Greene moved to California to set up an office for the fledgling group. It eventually connected with combat pilots of like vision in the UK, Australia and New Zealand to become Mission Aviation Fellowship. Greene flew MAFís first flight, which was in partnership with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Mexico.

In addition to Peru and Sudan, Greene piloted MAF aircraft while based in Nigeria and New Guinea. 

Hohensee thinks her Aunt Betty would have shared the attitude of the WASP programís 112 pilots who attended the ceremony. ìThe women are happy to be honored, but they weren't exulting in the honor,î Hohensee said. ìShe probably would have said the real glory was in her mission work. 

ìFor her, WASP was really more of a means to an end: flying experience and to make her way into mission work.î

PHOTO 1: (Above) Greene, World War II WASP aviator.

PHOTO 2: (Above) Greene (center) made the first flight into a rugged region of Papua, Indonesia, to visit missionaries Bill and Grace Cutts.  The Monis tribe, which had worked so hard to build the air strip, came out in full force. 

The spaceship was unveiled to the public for the first time on December 7, 2009 and named by Governors Schwarzenegger and Richardson. VSS Enterprise remained attached to its unique WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, for the duration of the 2 hours 54 minutes flight, achieving an altitude of 45,000ft (13716 metres).

Both vehicles are being developed for Sir Richard Bransonπs Virgin Galactic, by Mojave-based Scaled Composites. Founded by Burt Rutan, Scaled developed SpaceShipOne which in 2004 claimed the $10m Ansari X prize as the worldπs first privately developed manned spacecraft. Virgin Galacticπs new vehicles share much of the same basic design but are being built to carry six fare- paying passengers on sub-orbital space flights, allowing an out-of-the-seat zero gravity experience and offering astounding views of the planet from the black sky of space.

Virgin Galactic has already taken around $45m in deposits for spaceflight reservations from over 330 people wanting to experience space for themselves.

The first flight of VMS Enterprise is another major milestone in an exhaustive flight testing programme, which started with the inaugural flight of VMS Eve in 2008 and is at the heart of Virgin Galacticπs commitment to safety.

Commenting on the historic flight, Burt Rutan said: ≥This is a momentous day for the Scaled and Virgin Teams. The captive carry flight signifies the start of what we believe will be extremely exciting and successful spaceship flight test program.≤

Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Galactic added: ≥Seeing the finished spaceship in December was a major day for us but watching VSS Enterprise fly for the first time really brings home what beautiful, ground-breaking vehicles Burt and his team have developed for us. It comes as no surprise that the flight went so well; the Scaled team is uniquely qualified to bring this important and incredible dream to reality. Today was another major step along that road and a testament to US engineering and innovation.≤

The VSS Enterprise test flight programme will continue though 2010 and 2011, progressing from captive carry to independent glide and then powered flight, prior to the start of commercial operations.

For further information go to www.virgingalactic.com

PORTLAND, Ore. ñ Officials investigating the wreckage of a World War II-era dive bomber found in the Oregon woods say at least three U.S. Navy planes of that type went down in that area from 1945 to 1948.

Tillamook County Sheriff Todd Anderson said Friday investigators still don't know the origin of the wrecked Helldiver found near the now-defunct Naval Air Station Tillamook.

However, Anderson said investigators have learned at least three planes of that type went down during the final years the air station was still in operation.

He said two went down in 1945 and another in 1948.

Anderson said investigators have been getting help from people who worked at Tillamook at the time.

Geneva (CH) March 21, 2010: Swiss aviator Riccardo Mortara and his crew have set the record for the fastest flight around the world in a 9,000-12,000kg aircraft. They had to add a 12th leg to their trip, after plans to land in Keflavik, Iceland, were aborted due to a volcanic eruption.
 
Their plane, a 1980 Sabreliner 65 jet, took of from Geneva at 06:12 am UTC on Friday morning, flew east, and returned  Sunday at 4:06 pm UTC, completing the 36,770 km minimum distance in 57 hours 54 minutes. The average speed around the world was 647km/h.
 
This is the first time a record has been set in this weight class with refueling stops, and beats pioneering pilot Steve Fossettís time of 67 hours and one minute, which was achieved without stops in the state-of-the-art VirginFlyer in 2006.
 
A secondary target was to beat golfer Arnold Palmerís 1978 record of 57 hours 26 minutes, which he set in a Learjet 36 ñ a plane in a lighter weight category than Mortaraís elderly Sabreliner.
 
Mortara (62) led the three man crew ñ comprising himself, co-captain Gabriel Mortara (28), and co-pilot Flavien Guderzo (26) ñ from Geneva to Bahrain, then Colombo, Macau, Osaka, Petropavlovsk, Anchorage, Las Vegas and Montreal, before having to urgently change plans. Their next intended destination had been Keflavik, but the volcanic eruption resulted in all of Icelandís airports being shut down. Halfway there, Mortara was forced to return to Canada, refueling in Goose Bay, Labrador, before re-calculating the Sabrelinerís route.
 
The eruption was the areaís first in 176 years, and could not be predicted. It added a huge element of suspense to the final day of the mission, and effectively cost it four hours.
 
With the aborted leg not counting towards the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) minimum distance, the previous Keflavik-Casablanca-Geneva plan was ditched in favour of Shannon, then Marrakech, and finally home to Geneva. The total distance traveled was 36,900km.
 
A key part of the 12-leg journey were the ëpitstopsí. Each time the crew landed, they urgently refueled and took off again. Planned stops ranged between 28 minutes in Colombo, and 55 minutes in Petropavlovsk. The unplanned stop in Goose Bay took 64 minutes.
 
 
Riccardo Mortara (mission commander):  ìTo complete this circumnavigation and establish a new record is a tremendous honour and the proudest moment of my career. Steve Fossettís time in this category of plane was a challenge to beat, but I was confident we could do so.
 
ìIn fact, we set our target a little higher, and aimed to beat Arnold Palmerís record in a lighter weight class. We came so close to achieving this, and would have done so by four hours were it not for the volcano in Iceland.
 
ìEverything was going to plan until Keflavik. In the 35 years I have been flying across the Atlantic I have never heard of this airport closing. We did calculations on weather and risks like this for the last 40 years, and the risk of a volcanic eruption that would disrupt our trip was not something we were expecting.
 
ìWe learned of this halfway to Keflavik from our previous refueling stop in Montreal. We had two options: Return to Canada, or divert to Shannon. The later would have been risky, fuel-wise, and I was not prepared to take that risk with my crew and passengers with nothing below us but ocean.
 
ìAnother bad scenario would have been landing in Keflavik and not being allowed to take-off again. So I took the decision to land in Goose Bay. From there, we had to make completely new calculations, as our aborted ninth leg would not count towards the world recordís minimum distance. We flew to Shannon, then Marrakesh, and home to Geneva, all the while pushing to set the best possible time.
 
ìThe volcano was not in the script, and this just made the mission more thrilling.
 
ìI am proud of what we have achieved and would like to take this opportunity to thank Gabriel, my son, and Flavien who have made this record possible.
 
ìI would also like to thank my plane and all at Sabreliner Corporation. The aircraft is known as ëthe legendí for a reason. She is a very special plane, and a great team mate. Very few aircraft can fly for 58 hours straight without experiencing any mechanical troubles. After this mission, she returns to her regular job as a luxury air taxi for my company, Sonnig SA.î
 
 
 
More information about at the mission can be found at www.360world record.com, along with a blog from the trip detailing every leg and the crewís experiences.

Photo courtesy of Bonhams New York

New York - Bonhams announces the sale of a 1917 Curtiss MF Seagull
Flying Boat, to be offered at auction on Tuesday, April 13 in New York.
Sourced from the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio,
the flying boat will be the first vintage plane auctioned in Manhattan,
and it is expected to realize between $300,000-500,000.

A plane designed by one of the leading pioneers of American aviation and
archrival of the Wright brothers, Glenn H. Curtiss, the Seagull is an
eloquent symbol for one of the Curtiss company's greatest achievements -
the perfection of the seaplane. As part of the celebrations surrounding
the auction, the aircraft will be on public view in the Sculpture Garden
Atrium at 590 Madison Avenue from Saturday April 3 to Tuesday April 13.

Rupert Banner, Specialist in Charge of the Sale, says, "Bonhams has a
long, proud history offering Motor Cars at auction across the globe, and
has recently led the way in the sale of vintage aircraft. This fantastic
Curtiss Flying Boat provides a fitting opening for the sale of vintage
aircraft in New York, and it joins an illustrious list of aviation
marques that Bonhams has recently offered, including two of the most
recognizable and famous aircraft of the 20th century, the Hawker
Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire."

Glenn H. Curtiss was a true aviation pioneer, and was an archrival of
the Wright Brothers. They may have flown first, but Curtiss flew the
first-ever public flight, and went on to win awards and aviation
distinctions across America and Europe during the first years of manned
flight. He went on to become fascinated with flying boats and would
later be known as the father of naval aviation.

The MF was first developed in 1917 from the original F model, a Curtiss
flying boat design the United States Navy had been using since 1912/13.
Standing for 'Modernised F-boat' (MF), it proved an excellent trainer
and by 1921 87 MFs were in service with the Navy.

After the cessation of hostilities, not all MFs were needed, so many
were sold off as surplus, and the Curtiss company converted a number to
the MF Seagull configuration, with increased horsepower and additional
seating. Notably, Howard Hughes took his first flight in a Curtiss MF in
1926 and one of the first buyers of the MF Seagull was Sid Chaplin,
Charles' brother.

This particular Seagull was built in the Philadelphia dockyards, and was
the sixty-first built in a batch of eighty. It almost certainly was
stationed as a Naval trainer in Pensacola or Atlantic City, before being
released as surplus in 1923 or 1924. After that, it seems the plane had
one owner, William H. Long, who based the Seagull in Sandusky Bay, Ohio
and made frequent trips to Cedar Point Amusement Park with joyriders and
sightseers. In 1945 Long refurbished the Seagull and donated the
aircraft to Cleveland's Frederick C. Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. It
has been on display at the Western Historical Reserve Society, and was
retired from public exhibition in recent times.

POLK CITY, Fla. (March 1, 2010) - When the WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, return to Fantasy of Flight March 25-27 to take part in the annual Living History Symposium Series held in their honor, they will undoubtedly hold their heads just a little higher. Just two weeks before their Fantasy of Flight appearance, and more than 60 years since their brave service during World War II as the first women to pilot U.S. military aircraft, the WASP will be officially recognized by the U.S. Congress with the Congressional Gold Medal.

On March 10, as many as 300 of the original 1,114 WASP are expected to convene on Capitol Hill to receive the highest award a civilian can receive from the United States Congress. The Congressional Gold Medal is bestowed only upon those who have performed an outstanding act of service for their country. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law in July 2009 to grant the WASP this great honor.

From March 25-27, in honor of Women's History Month, four of the original WASP, Bernice "Bee" Falk Haydu, Riviera Beach, Fla., Florence Rubin Mascott, Palm Beach, Fla., Barry Vincent Smith, Avon Park, Fla. and Helen Wyatt Snapp, Pembroke Pines, Fla. will take part in the second of Fantasy of Flight's three-part Living History Symposium Series. Called "A Passionate Pursuit," the weekend forum will celebrate all of the fearless female pilots who left their homes and jobs at the height of World War II to serve their country as the first American women to fly for the U.S. military. When every available American male pilot was absorbed into combat overseas, dangerous non-combat flight duty still required pilots stateside for ferrying, testing, dragging targets and liaison - tasks hardly suited for the inexperienced or the faint of heart. The WASP bravely stepped forward to fill that void and aid in the war effort.

The symposium will bring to life the experiences of these courageous aviators through several open-forum/question-and-answer sessions with Haydu, Mascott, Smith and Snapp, as well as permanent and semi-permanent exhibits and real aircraft. Fantasy of Flight's WASP exhibition, which includes aircraft as well as four separate bays that feature historical, anecdotal, and inspirational newsreel footage, original photos, and storytelling panels from the 1940s and today, will serve as the backdrop for historic appearances from the real pilots.

New this year, on Friday, March 26, from noon to 1:30 p.m., Fantasy of Flight will host a special, reservations-only luncheon with limited seating in honor of the four WASP.  The intimate luncheon will be held at the Orlampa Conference Center at Fantasy of Flight.  Tickets are $65 plus tax per person and include admission to the afternoon symposium and attraction after the luncheon.  Reservations are required. For tickets, visit www.fantasyofflight.com/livinghistory or call 863-984-3500, ext. 220. Corporate tables and individual tickets are available.

"These amazing women literally shattered the glass ceiling when they took to the skies in U.S. military aircraft nearly 70 years ago," said Kermit Weeks, founder and creator of Fantasy of Flight. "We hope the community will come out in force to hear their inspirational stories, including their experience receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, and to give them the heroes' welcome they deserve."

Bernice "Bee" Falk Haydu was an engineering test pilot and utility pilot for WASP for only one year before the program was disbanded, but she later served as President of the Order of Fifinella, the WASP alumnae organization, and was instrumental in the fight to obtain WWII Veterans' status for members of the group. The battle for Veterans' benefits took two years, a national media tour and "much midnight oil being burned," but the bill was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in Nov. 1977. An active pilot, flight instructor and aviation business owner, Haydu also was instrumental in starting a new group, Women Military Pilots, which was later changed to Women Military Aviators to incorporate women other than pilots. Her WASP uniform can be seen on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and she wrote a book detailing her WASP experience, entitled Letters Home 1944-1945. For all of her contributions to her country and to the field of aviation, Haydu was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in 2000.

Florence Rubin Mascott spent her childhood dreaming of flight. She caught her break after completing NYA Radio School, when she began working as a professor's assistant at MIT and learned about the CAP (Civil Air Patrol) program. Although she finally got to ride in an airplane as she had always dreamed, being a passenger wasn't enough. She set her sights on logging the necessary 35 hours of flight time to become a WASP. Her mother surprised her with the then astounding amount of $300 needed to complete her hours and pay board at a small flight training school in Warrenton, Va., where a cow pasture served as the runway. On her way home from flight training, she stopped in Washington, D.C. to apply for WASP and was accepted into the May 1944 class by WASP founder herself, Jackie Cochran. She flew AT-6s for WASP for a short time, until Dec. 1944 when the program was deactivated. She worked as an aircraft communicator until the men came home from WWII and her job was given to a returning veteran. At just 20 years old, she settled down into a "more conventional life" as a buyer for a department store.

Barry Vincent Smith was 21 years old, living with her parents in Chittenango, N.Y., when her brother, who had recently enlisted in the Air Force, wrote her a letter telling her she'd "better learn to fly" because women would soon get a chance to pilot military aircraft. Smith went out the next day and found a flight instructor, whom she paid $14.50 per one hour lesson, more than half of her weekly salary at the phone company. After logging the 35 required hours of flight time necessary to apply for WASP, the small town girl took a train to New York City, by herself, for her interview and was accepted into the WASP program. She had to wait six months, until Jan.1, 1944, to start her training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, where she flew day and night, dual and solo, piloting AT-6s, BT-13s and Stearmans for WASP.

Helen Wyatt Snapp was working as a government clerk in Washington, D.C. when she decided to take advantage of Franklin D. Roosevelt's new Civilian Pilot Training Program and quickly earned her private pilot's license. While her husband, Ira Benton Snapp, was serving overseas, Helen heard about the WASP program and wanted to do her part. She was accepted into the program in Jan. 1943 and served at Liberty Field in Camp Stewart, Ga. until WASP was de-activated. By that time, Snapp had completed more than 1,000 hours of flying time and flew numerous target missions, towing targets for live fire on anti-aircraft ranges.

Only 1,830 of the 25,000 applicants were accepted into the WASP program, and 1,074 of those women earned their silver WASP wings. Their indomitable founder, Jackie Cochran, became the first civilian to receive the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal for her vision and leadership of the WASP program.

The third in the Living History Symposium Series, "Victory in the Sky" will take place Saturday, April 17 featuring American Fighter Aces in honor of National Military Month. This elite group of combat pilots shot down five or more hostile aircraft in air-to-air combat in World War I and II, as well as Korea and Vietnam. Out of more than 40,000 fighter pilots trained during World War II, only 1,314 had the skill and bravery to become an American Fighter Ace.  Along with firsthand accounts from the Fighter Aces, Fantasy of Flight's immersion experiences and meticulously recreated historical exhibits take guests back in time to see, hear and feel what it was like to fly some of America's greatest wartime airplanes. The true stories of these courageous pilots are further brought to life by the world's largest private collection of rare and vintage aircraft, and tours of aircraft restoration and maintenance areas.

During each symposium, Fantasy of Flight will feature "Open Cockpit Days" during which guests are invited to get up close and personal with some of America's most rare vintage aircraft and climb aboard for a once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity.

Fantasy of Flight also hosts a number of other special events throughout the 2010 year, including the 100th Anniversary of Scouting Camporee, March 5- 7; The Blue Max: Scale Remote Controlled (R/C) Challenge and Fly-In, March 12-13; the Sun 'n Fun Splash-In at Fantasy of Flight on Lakes Agnes, April 15; Mustangs & Mustangs-Legends Havin' Fun 2010, April 17; Roar n' Soar, Nov. 13 -14 and many more.

Cost of each Living History symposium is included with Fantasy of Flight admission, which is $28.95 for adults, $14.95 for children ages 6-15, plus 7 percent sales tax. Children 5 and younger are free. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more. Annual passes are available for $69.95 for adults, $39.95 for children ages 6-15, plus 7 percent sales tax, and are good for one year from the date of purchase.  Open Cockpit Days are free for Annual Pass holders and $20 additional for paid guests.

For more information, call 863-984-3500 or visit www.fantasyofflight.com.

DAYTON, Ohio ó A limited number of tickets for a dinner with the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders during their 68^th Reunion will go on-sale to the public on March 1 at 9 a.m. The dinner, which will be held on April 16 in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Forceís Modern Flight Gallery, will begin with cocktails at 6 p.m. and seating for dinner at 7 p.m. The cost is $65 per ticket. 
download the flyer here.

Tickets can be purchased by obtaining an order form online at http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/doolittle.asp, by phone at (937) 904-9881 or in person at the museumís information desk. Order forms must be returned with payment to the museumís Special Events division and will be processed in the order that they are received. Payment will only be accepted by check or credit card (Discover, MasterCard or Visa). Those who purchase tickets will receive them by mail.     

Other events planned during what could possibly be the Raidersí last major public reunion include three autograph sessions, a memorial service and B-25 flyover at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, and a tribute concert by the U.S. Air Force Band ensemble ìThe Airmen of Noteî at Wright State University's Nutter Center.

In addition, the museum's Family Day programs will feature the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, and the film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, will be shown in the museum's Carney Auditorium on April 17.

As a special tribute to the Raiders during the reunion, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association, Inc. is hoping to secure enough sponsorship funding to fly in and land 25 B-25 Mitchell bombers on the runway behind the museum. If their efforts are successful, this aviation event would be the largest gathering of B-25s since World War II. To date, 12 B-25 bombers have agreed to participate.            
                                                                
Those interested in helping to make this flight of B-25 bombers possible should contact Tom Casey with the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association, Inc. at (941) 921-7361 or by email at: tomcat911@comcast.net. (Federal endorsement is not implied.)  

On April 18, 1942, 80 men achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. These men, led by Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, came to be known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.
                                                           

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Yearís Day). Admission and parking are free.

NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 904-9881.

Kermit Weeks accepting the "Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award" from the award's namesake at the "7th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards" ceremony in Los Angeles.

POLK CITY, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2010) - Kermit Weeks, creator and founder of Central Florida's premier aviation attraction, Fantasy of Flight, recently received the "Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award," one of the highest awards given at the "7th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards" presented by Learjet. Often called the "Academy Awards of Aviation," the red-carpet event was held at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.

Other awards presented at the event were the "First Out of This World Landing and Take Off Award," given to Dr. Buzz Aldrin, astronaut, moon walker, author and entrepreneur; and the "Top Aviation Inspiration and Patriotism Award," given to Tom Cruise, an accomplished aerobatic pilot and star of Top Gun, among others.  Well-known guests included astronauts Neil Armstrong, Col. Frank Borman and Gene Cernan, as well as actors Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank.

The "Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award" was created to recognize extraordinary accomplishments that inspire and cause appreciation for the freedoms associated with flight.  A WWII hero and aerobatics champion, Hoover served as Chuck Yeager's backup pilot for the Bell X-1 program and the chase pilot for Yeager in a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star during the Mach 1 flight. He is best known as the pilot who pushed the limits of the twin-piston engineered aircraft, the Aero Commander 500 Shrike Commander. Able to pour a cup of tea during a barrel roll, Hoover has been called the father of modern aerobatics and was named the third best aviator in history in the Centennial of Flight edition of "Air & Space Smithsonian." Above all, Hoover is often called "a pilot's pilot."

According to Hoover, Weeks was chosen to receive the high honor given by the "Living Legends of Aviation Awards" not only because of his passion for flight, and his accomplishments as an aerobatics champion, aircraft designer and restorer, but also for his lifelong mission, through his Fantasy of Flight attraction as well as his other personal and professional endeavors, to spark the imagination of every adult and child and to inspire them to pursue their own dreams, whatever they may be.

Past recipients of the award include Senator George McGovern, WWII decorated bomber pilot; Dr. Forrest Bird, inventor of the heart-lung machine; and Emily Howell-Warner, the first woman captain of a scheduled airline. During his acceptance speech, Weeks spoke of the magnitude of being included in this history-changing group of aviation industry legends.

"The word legend doesn't even come close to describing Bob Hoover.  He has been one of my personal heroes," said Weeks. "To receive this award named for him, presented by him and to be included in such an accomplished group of past recipients, is truly one of the most rewarding moments of my life!"

Last year, Weeks was selected to join some of the greatest pilots in Florida history as a member of Florida Aviation Hall of Fame. A pilot and aircraft designer, Weeks has placed among the top three aerobatics champions in the world five times and has won more than 20 medals in World Aerobatics Championships. The aviation enthusiast began restoring and preserving antique aircraft in the 1980's and today owns more than 150 civilian and military planes, the largest private collection in the world, many of which he has been displaying for the enjoyment of the public at his Polk City attraction, Fantasy of Flight, since 1995.

Weeks' philosophy for life, and business is included in his attraction's mission statement, "Flight, more than anything on this planet, symbolizes man's desire to go beyond himself. Let's use it to inspire mankind...to take the next step on its journey." Furthering that mission to inspire and educate tomorrow's leaders, in 2009, Weeks authored his first children's book "All of Life is a School" (KWIP Publishing, $19.95), which won a Bronze IPPY Award in the 13th Annual Independent Publisher Book Awards.
 
The "Living Legends of Aviation Awards" are produced by the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a non-profit association whose mission is to educate and inspire today's youth and create tomorrow's aviators and legends.

For more information, call 863-984-3500 or visit http://livinglegendsofaviation.org or www.fantasyofflight.com.

The Bf 109 G-6 WNr. 441059 was initially manufactured by the Wiener Neust‰dter Flugzeugwerke in April 1944. The aircraft got delivered to a Reichs defense unit. It was shot down by U.S. fighters during May or June 1944 and crashed near lake Attersee in Austria.

During the mid-1990s the remains of the W Nr. 441059 got recovered by a team of private aircraft collectors. Some years later the parts were purchased by an Austrian aircraft recovery and restoration company. This company restored the W Nr. 441059 by using original German WWII Messerschmitt spare parts. Parts of the rest of the aircraft were rebuilt from scratch. No Spanish parts were used. The remains of W Nr. 441059 were integrated in the rebuilt airframe. Among these parts was the original serial number plate, which was still riveted to the aft fuselage.

The aircraft was then painted extremely accurate in the standard Luftwaffe camouflage patterns. One can consider this paint job the best and most authentic paint Luftwaffe paint job worldwide. Since the W Nr. 441059 could not be tracked back to its original unit, the crest and tactical numbers along with the white fuselage band of the famous JG 3 ìUdetî were applied. The JG 3 lost several Bf 109s over Austria during the time period when W Nr. 441059 had been shot down.

Compared to the few others Bf 109¥s which exist worldwide, this W Nr. 441059 is among the very few which does not consist of Spanish built airframes. Additionally, this ìWerknummerî had seen actual combat!

This auction will take place April 16, 2010 in Munich, Germany. For more information please go to www.hermann-historica.com

Aerospace legend Colonel Joseph Kittinger introduces Red Bull Stratos research effort to capture data from Mach 1 freefall

Pilot Felix Baumgartner announced today his intention to expand the boundaries of aerospace exploration by attempting to become the first person ever to break the speed of sound with his own body. Baumgartner hopes to ascend in a capsule lifted by a helium balloon to the upper reaches of the stratosphere to at least 120,000 feet and, protected by a full-pressure ìspace suit,î launch a freefall jump that could exceed Mach 1.0 ñ more than 690 miles per hour ñ before parachuting to Earth. If successful, the Red Bull Stratos mission hopes to establish four world records; the data captured by the missionís world-leading scientists could promise new standards in aerospace safety and enhanced possibilities for human flight.

In a dramatic landscape draped in black and lit in blue on the 40^th floor of a New York high-rise, United States Air Force Colonel (Ret.) Joseph Kittinger, who in 1960 launched a stratospheric jump from 102,800 feet that opened the door for space exploration, and whose records Baumgartner aims to break, introduced the Austrian pilot to media from around the world during a briefing in New York City.

ìPeople have been trying to break my records for fifty years, and many have died in the attempt,î Kittinger said. ìBut I believe that with our unique assets, an extraordinary mission team, the dedication of Red Bull, and Baumgartnerís outstanding skills, Red Bull Stratos will succeed.î

Kittinger, Baumgartner (best known for being the first person to fly across the English Channel with a carbon wing in 2003), Red Bull Stratos Medical Director Dr. Jonathan Clark and Technical Project Director Art Thompson provided an overview of the mission, which will we will expect to launch in North America with a target launch date in 2010.  

ìThis is truly a step into the unknown. No one can accurately predict how the human body will react in the transition to supersonic speeds,î said Baumgartner. ìBut weíve got to find out. Future aerospace programs need a way for pilots and astronauts to bail out at high altitude in case of emergency.î

Clark, who served as a crew surgeon for six Space Shuttle missions, confirmed that data captured from the mission will be shared with the scientific community, and noted that he expects long-awaited medical protocols to be established as a result. He also commented, ìI think one of the most profound benefits of Red Bull Stratos is going to be the inspiration for our youthÖ The kind of stuff Felix is doing is like the early astronauts and cosmonauts.î

Red Bull Stratos has secured specialized technical communications from Riedel Communications that will facilitate the coverage of the Red Bull Stratos mission with a live TV broadcast and live webcast delivered by Microsoft Silverlight. In parallel the mission will also be streamed on mobile platforms through a mobile application powered by Ovi by Nokia. Global broadcaster, the BBC, will produce a special 90-minute documentary, which will air exclusively in the US on the National Geographic Channel and be distributed globally to national broadcasters by BBC Worldwide.

The Red Bull Stratos trailer can be viewed and shared at www.redbullstratos.com.

Charitybuzz (www.charitybuzz.com)  raises funds for nonprofits through innovative online auctions. Right now, Charitybuzz is auctioning off the "Fly to the Edge of Space" Package to benefit Let 'em Play, a charitable organization that provides funds for youth to participate in sports, entertainment and educational programs who otherwise would not be able to afford to.

This package is for the true daredevil who wants to see something only a very, very few number of people have ever seen - the true edge of Space. This is where the blue of our planets atmosphere meets the black of space, the stratosphere.  One lucky bidder can fly to this place in a Mig-29, one of the most famous and impressive of all the Russian fighter jets. After the jet comes back to normal heights, it will perform as many of the incredible acrobatics that this legendary fighter aircraft can do that the winner's body can take! Maneuvers such as Flying Inverted, the Hammer Head, the Roll, a Loop, a Low Level Pass and others, will be made.

After reaching its maximum altitude at the edge of space, the MiG- 29 "Fulcrum" fighter jet will descend to an altitude of 5-6 km when the pilot will begin performing the aerobatics. The winning bidder will be in constant communication with the pilot and may modify the program or the type of aerobatics. G-forces might be between 3G and 7G.

Readers can bid on this package by going to: http://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/113120?preview=1>>

One of the nations' premier historical aviation events will bring the excitement and adrenaline of World War I air power to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Sept. 25-27.
 
The World War I Dawn Patrol Rendezvous will feature vintage reproduction full scale and 7/8 scale aircraft, such as the Nieuport, SE.5 and Fokker DR-1 triplane. Pilots will perform precision flying in the skies above the museum and compete in a flour-bombing competition, with aircraft launching from and landing on the museum's rear field. 

Additional activities will include period re-enactors in a war encampment setting, era automobiles on display and participating in a parade, flying exhibitions by WWI radio-controlled aircraft, and a collector's show for WWI items. Food and merchandise will also be available for sale. 

A biennial event offered by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and the Great War Aeroplanes Association, the last WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous took place in the fall of 2007. 

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission and parking are free. 

For more information, contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286. 

National Geographic Channel and Northrop Grumman Team Up to Build Replica for New Documentary

San Diego, CA - June 22, 2009 - National Geographic Channel (NGC) and Northrop Grumman Corporation teamed up to build a Horten 229 flying wing replica for Hitler's Stealth Fighter, a new documentary

premiering June 28, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. The top-secret Nazi stealth fighter was reconstructed to determine if Hitler's military had stealth capabilities three decades before the United States. The Horten 229 is scheduled to be unveiled as part of the Museumís World War II Gallery on Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

In the final months of World War II, American troops discovered a top-secret facility in Germany with an advanced, jet-propelled aircraft like none seen before. Shaped like a massive, smooth-contoured bat wing and made almost entirely from wood, the flying machine looked as if it was from another world. Decades ahead of its time, the futuristic fighter jet was brought back to the United States to be studied. Was the plane's strange shape designed to deflect Allied radar? If Nazi engineers had more time, would this jet have ultimately changed the outcome of the war? These questions remained a mystery for more than 60 years while a German prototype was hidden in a U.S. government warehouseÖ until now.

Premiering June 28, 2009, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Hitler's Stealth Fighter reveals one of the Third Reich's best-kept secrets. For more than half a century little was known about this mysterious aircraft. Now, with an elite team of Northrop Grumman aeronautical engineers, NGC worked from the original plans and prototype to reconstruct a full-scale replica of the jet and determined if it had stealth capabilities. If proven, it would confirm that Hitler was on the verge of introducing a stealth jet fighter into the battle with Allies, long before the United States began developing stealth technology in the 1970s. The implications could have been monumental, especially in light of the Nazis' parallel progress in developing atomic capabilities.

For three months, NGC cameras followed the Northrop Grumman team, documenting the meticulous construction of the 229 replica. To stay faithful to the original aircraft, they used time-tested materials and techniques to form it, but its complex shape presented challenges, even with today's technical advances. Once the model was completed, the team headed to a restricted area in the Mojave Desert where cameras have never before been allowed. At the Northrop Grumman test range, the replica was mounted five stories off the ground so radar could be aimed at it from every angle. Using radar detection technology and simulated aerial attacks, the team finally unlocks the mystery of Hitler's Stealth Fighter after decades of debate.

Hitler's Stealth Fighter premieres Sunday, June 28, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com/stealth

For more information about the unveiling and pictures of the Horten 229 please visit: www.sandiegoairandspace.org or call 619.234.8291 x140.

Hitlerís Stealth Fighter is produced for the National Geographic Channel by Flying Wing Films. For Flying Wing Films, executive producers are Michael Jorgensen and Carrie Gour. Writer/director is Michael Jorgensen. For the National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Michael Welsh, senior vice president of production is Michael Cascio and executive vice president of content is Steve Burns.

National Geographic Channel
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channel (NGC) is a joint venture between National Geographic Ventures (NGV) and Fox Cable Networks (FCN). Since launching in January 2001, NGC initially earned some of the fastest distribution growth in the history of cable and more recently the fastest ratings growth in television. The network celebrated its fifth anniversary in January 2006 with the launch of NGC HD which provides the spectacular imagery that National Geographic is known for in stunning high-definition. NGC has carriage with all of the nation's major cable and satellite television providers, making it currently available in nearly 70 million homes. For more information, please visit www.natgeotv.com.

About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is Californiaís official air and space museum and education center. The Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, and it was the first aero-themed Museum to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. Currently on display: THE DA VINCI EXPERIENCE, a special exhibition featuring remarkable reproductions of Leonardo da Vinciís most famous artwork and interactive replicas of his mechanical devices created more than 500 years ago. Visit www.sandiegoairandspace.org for more information. The Museum is located at 2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101. The Museum and gift store are open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with admissions until 5:00 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

World War II History Invades Denver!
The Warbirds Unlimited Foundation of Mesa, AZ Establishes Summer ìBaseî for Rare North American B-25H Mitchell in Denver, CO at Centennial Airport
The roar of Wright R-2600s will be a common sound over the Mile High City this summer as the Warbirds Unlimited Foundation of Mesa, AZ brings their extremely unique and rare H-model B-25 to Denver for Summer 2009 to offer flight experiences and the ability for local residents to see one of the most famous aircraft of World War II up-close and personal.
The North American B-25H Mitchell, named ìBarbie IIIî is the last flying H-model with the 75mm cannon in the nose.  The rare gunship model of the B-25, used heavily in the South Pacific for ground attack, was one of the most unique adaptations of the Mitchell seen during the war. 

The aircraft operated by the Warbirds Unlimited Foundation was the first B-25H built and survived the war as a stateside trainer with North American, then was sold after the war into the private sector as a test bed for landing gear by the Bendix Corporation.  It was restored in the 1990ís to wartime configuration by a group of volunteers called the Weary Warriors of Aurora, IL after it sat for many years on a farm.  The restoration was comprehensive and the aircraft is one of the most accurate B-25 restorations currently in flying condition.

For people interested in taking a flight back in time aboard the B-25H ìBarbie IIIî, thirty-minute flights aboard are being offered for a $375 donation per person for the opportunity.  All donations go right back into the operation and upkeep of the B-25 and to help keep the aircraft flying for many generations to come. 

The Summer 2009 base for the Warbirds Unlimited Foundation in Denver, CO will be at Centennial Airport located at Denver jetCenter.  Flights are traditionally offered Saturdays and Sundays, but special arrangements for weekday opportunities are always available.  The B-25 will be based in Denver from June 19th through the second week in September 2009. 

Reservations for flight experiences for Fatherís Day are currently being booked.  Call 800-357-6561 for reservations or visit http://www.warbirdsunlimited.org <http://www.warbirdsunlimited.org/> for more details.

Questions:

Why did the 445th become separated? Was it navigational error or deliberate? If the latter, why? Was the 445th on a special mission?

The lead bombardier didnít drop his bombs, but everyone else did. Why?

Reports say the 445th dropped its bombs on the secondary target of Gˆttingen, but in the original orders, that city was not mentioned.

Why was the deputy navigatorís briefcase confiscated when he landed at the base? 

Why was this incident concealed from the Allied press and, consequently, from the American people?

           As far back as the silent film era of the 1920s, aviation was a popular theme in Hollywood productions.  Rising to its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, Hollywoodís love affair with the airplane is not quite the same these days.  However, aviation themes with a modern flavor, and even historical productions, do still grace the ìbig screenî at times.  Furthermore, many current film and television productions are placing a greater emphasis on the use of aircraft employing modern technology as camera platforms capable of providing new and exciting views of various action subjects. 

            Now heavily involved in movie and television productions, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, Planes of Fame was the very first permanent air museum in the American West and pioneer in the concept of restoring historic display aircraft to flying condition.  A non-profit, educational institution staffed primarily by a core of dedicated volunteers, Planes of Fame supports its daily operations with admission fees, donations, facilities rentals and proceeds from the use of its aircraft in various productions.

            Planes of Fame also has a special membership program available to the public, with one of the advantages of membership being the opportunity to actually experience the thrill of orientation flights in genuine warbirds.  At each monthly special event, members in attendance, including last-minute sign-ups, can have their names entered into a free drawing for a member-supported warbird orientation flight.

For more information about The Planes of Fame Air Museum, and its events, please call (909)597-3722; or visit the Planes of Fame website at www.planesoffame.org.

Competition to Take Place on October 24 and 25 at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico

SEATTLE, Wash. ó June 6, 2008 ó The Flying Heritage Collection, one of the worldís great collections of rare World War II-era fighter planes from five major countries of the war, announced today that its exhibition facility at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. is now open to the public. The collection features 15 of the most famous fighting planes ever designed and built, and it is one of the nationís largest collections of vintage planes in flyable condition.

Many of the planes in the collection were salvaged and saved from extreme circumstances. The collectionís Nakajima Hayabusa, a Japanese fighter plane from 1942, was located deep in the jungles of Rabaul (a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea) at the Warís end. The P-40C was located in a field in Russia five decades after it crash landed during the War. The V-1 examples were found on the floor of a secret underground factory years after the War. And the Bf 109 was found in 1988 when a man walking on the beach near Calais, France tripped over a piece of metal sticking out of the sandóit turned out to be the wing tip of the buried plane.

The Flying Heritage Collection is a collection of rare World War II-era military aircraft owned by philanthropist Paul G. Allen. The mission of the collection is to obtain, restore, fly, interpret and preserve aircraft and artifacts representing technological advancements in manned flight. Currently, the collection displays 15 of the most famous fighting planes ever designed and built. It also is one of the worldís largest collections of vintage aircraft that have been restored to flying condition. The collection is operated by Friends of Flying Heritage, a 501(c)(3) organization committed to educating the public about these rare, historic aircraft. The Flying Heritage Collection is located in a restored hangar at the southeast corner of Paine Field at 3407 109th Street SW, Everett, Wash. 98204. The Collection is open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It is open six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. the rest of the year. It is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. For more information, please visit www.flyingheritage.com.

The F-35Bís short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) demonstration flights ñ short takeoffs, vertical landings and hovers, are scheduled to begin in early 2009.

The F-35B will carry the very latest laser ñ and satellite-guided munitions for its primary strike mission, a 25mm cannon and heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles for self defense.

With its supersonic speed and 5th generation stealth capabilities the Lockheed Martin F-35B will be the ultimate strike fighter for years to come. Whether launching from hidden places in the woods or from ships at sea, the F-35B will be a more than capable replacement of the non-stealthy, subsonic Harrier II thatís served so well for so many years.

Customers for the F-35B Lightning II include the U.S. Marine Corps, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, and the Italian Air Force and Navy.

óSteve Pace

  This event could possibly be the most talked about aviation event of 2008 owing to its unique subject. With over 13,700 Curtiss P-40s of various model numbers built between October, 1938 and November 1944, it is sad to realize there are only about two dozen flying today in North America. It is the intention of the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group to bring as many as possible of these existing airframes together once again for a definitive reunion. Aviation museums and private collectors from both Coasts of the United States and all parts in between, as well as in Canada, have been invited to be a part of this unique warbird gathering. Not since the 1970's have there been more than a handful of P-40s together at any one location at the same time and flying together. When one thinks about the success of the recent ìGathering of Mustangs and Legendsî held September, 2007 at Columbus, Ohio, where more than 75 P-51 Mustangs out of the existing 150-plus flying airframes showed up, the 1941 Aircraft Group would be happy to see 50-percent of existing P-40s at its event.

  Sadly, there are hardly any of the original AVG (American Volunteer Group) pilots still alive. One of the last was David Lee ìTexî Hill, who passed away October 11, 2007, at the age of 92. The 1941 Historical Aircraft Group would like to contact any surviving P-40 pilots whether Flying Tiger, 14th Air Force member or others, to invite them to be part of the festivities. Several former employees from the Curtiss factory in Buffalo are planning to attend, as well as crew chiefs and mechanics who serviced the P-40s in the CBI. Anyone who may know the whereabouts of any of the above veterans, please contact us as soon as possible.

  For additional information, please contact Frank Schaufler, Airshow Coordinator at: (585)-392-4859; email: avgrAIRfix@hotmail.com.

(Dayton, Ohio ñ January 31, 2008)  The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) has launched its first-of-a-kind General Member recruiting drive, offering a free NAHF commemorative Gathering of Mustangs and Legends (GML) poster with each new membership received before July 31, 2008.   The NAHF is offering a one-year General Membership (valued at $45) plus one of the stunning 18-by-24 inch heavyweight stock GML posters (valued at $25 plus $5 shipping & handling) for a combined total of just $50 for this limited time offer.

These posters, created by the NAHF, commemorate the epic GML celebration of the North American P-51 Mustang and many of the legends who flew them that was held at Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, on September 27-30, 2007. 

The full-color artwork, by noted illustrator Tom Tullis, accurately depicts the profiles of thirteen P-51ís once piloted by select enshrinees or nominees to the NAHF.  Among those featured are the Mustang profiles of Bud Anderson, Kenneth Dahlberg, Don Gentile, Robin Olds, Benjamin O. Davis and Bob Hoover.

Rolls-Royce North America sponsored the design and printing of the posters for the NAHF, making this limited time membership offer possible ($45 General Membership dues plus $5 poster s&h).  Their support also ensures that all proceeds of additional poster sales (at $25 each plus $5 shipping & handling) benefit the NAHF Learning Center.  Rolls-Royce was the manufacturer of the Mustangís venerable 12-cylinder Merlin powerplant.

Benefits of a General Membership include a NAHF license plate holder, lapel pin, special notice of the NAHFís annual enshrinement events, and a one-year subscription to Heroes & Legends Magazine, an exclusive NAHF publication.

ìThanks to the thousands that visited our Legends tent over the three day event, this stunning poster was the most popular print at the now legendary Gathering,î said NAHF Executive Director, Ron Kaplan.  ìSince then, the demand from so many who could not be there has been testimony to that interest.  The event was truly epic, and this poster is certainly a worthy commemorative.î

As Kaplan also points out, ìA great event now helps our great cause. With membership dues being a vital source of our non-profit operations, the proceeds of this follow-on promotion go directly to support the Hall of Fameís preservation of the legacies of very legends of flight that are represented on the poster.î

In addition to thanking Rolls-Royce for enabling the NAHF to benefit from the poster promotion, Kaplan also thanked Aviation History magazine for kicking off the NAHFís membership and poster special with its GML feature in the March 2008 issue, on newsstands now.

The NAHF is a Congressionally chartered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1962, dedicated to honoring Americaís outstanding air and space pioneers.  Located adjacent to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, admission to the NAHFís 17,000 square-foot Learning Center is free.  The NAHFís interactive exhibit hall, education programs and outreach initiatives are supported primarily through membership dues, individual gifts and corporate sponsorship. 

To join or learn more about the NAHF and its 195 enshrinees, visit www.nationalaviation.org, or call (937) 256-0944 x10 for more information.

The Cavanaugh Flight Museum (ìCFMî) and the Commemorative Air Force (ìCAFî) announced today a Cooperative Agreement that will put the worldís only airworthy B-29 back in the air. Jim Cavanaugh has pledged $1.2 million sponsorship for the re-engine project of FIFI, the CAFís world famous B-29.† ìThis sponsorship, together with additional donations from CAF members, should go a long way towards completing the project of putting FIFI back in the air again,î said Stephan Brown, President / CEO of the CAF. ìFundraising for FIFI by the CAF will continue, as we still have other restoration maintenance to perform, but Jim Cavanaughís generosity will get us a long way down that track,î Brown continued. Cavanaugh is the main financial support for the CFM and has been a long time benefactor of warbird projects and the CAF. ìThe B-29 played such a significant role in history that it is important that this airplane be preserved. Because of my close relationship with the CAF, I felt the need to get FIFI flying again,î said Cavanaugh.

Additionally, the B-29/B-24 Squadron Staff of the CAF, which has been assigned with the responsibility of operating the B-29 and the B-24A, voted unanimously to base these two airplanes at the CFM. According to Lyn Fite, CAF B-29 / B-24 Squadron Leader, ìUp to now, these aircraft were based out of Midland, but this unit move will be beneficial to the Squadron in many ways,î said Fite. ìWe will reside in Addison Texas, at the CFM, for six months, while we perform annual maintenance and we will tour on behalf of the CAF, by our crews, for the other six months.î Steve Sheridan Director of Maintenance of CFM exclaimed, ìWe have the facilities and resources to assist the volunteers of the B-29/B24 and look forward to helping in any way we can.î According to Doug Jeanes, Director of the CFM, visitors of the museum will be able to view this spectacular aircraft during its annual maintenance, at no additional cost.

The Cavanaugh Flight Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization devoted to promoting aviation studies and to perpetuating America's aviation heritage; the museum fulfills its mission by restoring, operating, maintaining and displaying historically-significant, vintage aircraft, and by collecting materials related to the history of aviation.

The Commemorative Air Force is a nonprofit aviation association dedicated to Honoring American Military Aviation, through Flight, Exhibition and Remembrance. The CAF has more than 8,000 members within 75 units worldwide, flying and restoring 171 vintage Warbirds.

For more information of the Commemorative Air Force or the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, go to www.commemorativeairforce.org†or www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com.

Jan. 17, 2008   DAYTON, Ohio ñ Several high ranking officials, distinguished guests and many Wright-Patterson Air Force Base employees gathered at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force today as the museum unveiled its new F-22A Raptor exhibit.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Pike, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Yearís Day). Admission and parking are free.

-30-

NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286, or visit http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123082688

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Flight Journal Podcast - Episode 14
Aeronca C-3

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SUN íN FUN CAMPUS, LAKELAND, Fl. ñ (December 11, 2007) ñ The United States Air Force (USAF) Thunderbirds military jet team announced today that the Sun ín Fun Fly-In has been included on this yearís Thunderbirds schedule. The announcement was made today at the International Council of Airshows (ICAS) Convention currently underway in Las Vegas, NV.  The 2008 Sun ín Fun Fly-In will be held April 8 ñ 13 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla.

ìSun ín Fun is honored and excited to hear that the worldís most recognized military jet team ñ the Thunderbirds ñ has included our event on their 2008 schedule,î said Sun ín Fun President and Convention Chairman John Burton.  ìTheir participation will add to the aircraft and activities already being planned for this yearís Fly-In.  We look forward to having the Thunderbirds here in Lakeland and know they will find the people and businesses throughout Lakeland, Polk County and central Florida to be avid enthusiasts and most hospitable hosts.î

The Thunderbirds plan to arrive at Sun ín Fun during the early portion of the Fly-In and remain through the remainder of the week.  They may engage in individual media flights and possibly a team orientation flight prior to their scheduled performances on Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13.

According to the U.S. Air Force, the Thunderbirds (officially named the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron) perform precision aerial maneuvers demonstrating the capabilities of Air Force high-performance aircraft to people throughout the world.  The Thunderbirds squadron is an Air Combat Command unit composed of eight pilots (including six demonstration pilots), four support officers, three civilians and more than 130 enlisted personnel performing in 25 career fields.  The air demonstration is a combination of formation flying and solo routines.

The four-aircraft ìDiamond Formationî demonstrates the training and precision of Air Force pilots, while the solo aircraft highlight the maximum capabilities of the F-16 ìFighting Falcon,î the fighter jet employed by the Thunderbird team.

The Thunderbirds perform approximately 30 maneuvers during their demonstration.  The entire Thunderbird performance, including ground and air routines, runs about an hour and fifteen minutes.

In addition to their responsibilities as the official U.S. Air Force aerial demonstration team, the Thunderbirds are part of Americaís active combat force.  If required, the teamís personnel and aircraft can be quickly integrated into a fighter unit at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where the F-16s can be made combat-ready in less than 72 hours.

Sun ín Fun, a 501(c)(3) notñforñprofit organization based in Lakeland, Florida, is best known for its annual FlyñIn held each April.  The FlyñIn is the primary source of funding for Sun ën Funís expanding yearñround aviation education programs.  These include operation of the Florida Air Museum, the stateís ìOfficial Aviation Museum and Education Center,î which is also supported through grants from the Division of Historical Resources and Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State.   In addition, Sun ín Fun has initiated education programs for aviation enthusiasts of all ages ñ especially young people ñ featuring valuable ìhands onî learning experiences.  A growing scholarship program provides financial support to ensure Sun ín Funís education programs are accessible to all.  For more information, access Sun ín Funís website (www.sun-n-fun.org) or call the Sun ín Fun offices (863ñ644ñ2431).

Flight Journal Podcast - Episode 13
Skyraider

Budd Davisson takes us through his check out in a Skyraider.

This episode is brought to you by www.pilotwear.com
Type in promo code FLY at checkout for a 10% discount.

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Public Affairs Division, 1100 Spaatz St., Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433-7102

(937) 255-4704  www.nationalmuseum.af.mil

Dec. 5, 2007

The 2008 calendar from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is now available. This upcoming year the museum celebrates its 85^th anniversary, and events will include unique air shows, stimulating lectures and enjoyable concerts by the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight.

One event to note is the Vintage Liaison Aircraft Gathering on Sept. 27-28. The fall weekend will feature fly-bys of liaison aircraft, which were used by all branches of the U.S. military from the late 1930s until the early 1970s. Military vehicles, vendors and radio-controlled aircraft will also be showcased during this distinctive gathering of heritage aircraft.

The upcoming yearís lecture series will also feature an exciting array of topics ó from World War I to todayís conflict in the Middle East. One particular interesting topic will be on March 19 when TSgt. Israel Del Toro presents ìThe Day I Went Boom! A Tale of Combat, Suffering and Survival in the Middle East.î During his lecture, Del Toro will share his inspiring story of survival after his Humvee rolled over a roadside bomb, causing wounds that have forever changed his face, hands and Air Force career.

A complete listing of 2008 events is attached or available at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-060202-001.pdf. For the most up-to-date information on events at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, please visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news&events/.

If you would like further information for calendar listings, articles or broadcasts, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division by emailing nationalmuseum.mup@wpafb.af.mil or calling (937) 255-4704.

Flight Journal Podcast - Episode 12
Towing Gliders

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Enola Gay pilot, Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets Jr. has passed away

Retired USAF Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.óborn in Quincy, Illinoisóentered the Army Air Corps on February 25, 1937, at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He graduated from pilot school at Kelly Field, Texas, and moved on to his first duty assignment with the 16th Observation Squadron at Lawson Field, Fort Benning, Georgia.

He later flew numerous combat missions in North Africa and Europe. While piloting Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses in Europe, he was selected to participate in the Boeing B-29 Superfortress program and returned to the U.S. in March 1943.  

In September 1944, then-AAF Col. Tibbets was selected to organize, command and make operational the secretive 393rd Bombardment Squadron of the 509th Composite Group. The 393rd BS was first equipped with 15 specially modified Boeing B-29 Superfortress airplanes that were produced under the code-name Silverplate. These aircraft (65 were ultimately produced) were in place on the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Island chain by the end of May 1945. While these airplanes and their crews awaited their ìspecial stores,î the squadron flew numerous training missions.

Then on August 6, 1945, Tibbets departed Tinian and flew the 12-hour, 13-minute mission to and from Japan. At 8:15 a.m. local time the uranium atomic bomb known as Little Boy was dropped from an altitude of 31,500 feet. Forty-three seconds later, at 2,000 feet above ground zero, it detonated. The result: the city of Hiroshima was decimated and 60,000 to 70,000 Japanese citizens were killed and 50,000 were injured. (These numbers are according to a summary report issued on July 1, 1946 by the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey.)

It has been said that this action, and the subsequent August 9, 1945, action by another atomic bomb-carrying B-29 named Bockscar, piloted by Maj. Charles W. Sweeney, helped to hasten the end of WW II on September 2, 1945.

Tibbets later said, ìI have been convinced that we saved more lives than we took.î He added, ìIt would have been morally wrong if weíd have had that weapon and not used it and let a million more people die [in the planned invasion of Japan].î  

Gen. Tibbets died of natural causes in Columbus, Ohio, on November 1, 2007. He was 92.

óSteve Pace

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